A Muggle In The Magic World
by Phoenixfox
Summary: It is absolutely impossible for a muggle to find her way into Diagon Alley, visit Hogsmeade, see Hogwarts and play a pivital role in the magic world without having any magical abilities. This fanfic proves it all wrong. COMPLETED.
1. The Richards Family

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe, nor do I have permission to use any of her characters or places. Its just all in good, creative fun.

However, all original characters and story lines are mine....all mine.

Chapter 1: The Richards Family

It was a cold, quiet morning in Little Whinging. The digital alarm clock on the bed side table changed from 6:29am to 6:30am, and the alarm went off.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A long slender arm reached out from amongst the blankets and fell like a dead weight on the clock, turning it off.

"That has got to be the most annoying sound in the world." Eleanor Richards thought to herself.

She slowly cracked open one of her eye lids and peeked at the clock which was now reading 6:31. Eleanor groaned at the thought of leaving her comfortable, warm bed and remained motionless for a few more minutes. Finally she reluctantly sat up and swung her feet around to the floor. Needless to say that Eleanor wasn't a morning person, but she would find herself more awake once she was upright. When Ellie was finally dressed in her school uniform, which consisted of a white button up dress shirt, a stone grey cardigan, a burgundy plaid kilt and a pair of grey knee high socks, she drew back her curtain and gazed at the rows of houses below. The sky was gradually becoming a paler blue, but it would still be another hour until the sun would peek over the roof tops.

Eleanor made her way downstairs to the kitchen where she found her mother, as she had for the past five years, sitting at the breakfast table engrossed with the daily newspaper.

"Morning mum!" Eleanor managed to get out her greeting before she let out a huge yawn.

"Morning Ellie." Karen Richards replied, not bothering to look up from the paper.

The next step in the usual morning routine was for Ellie to make her way to the cupboard, pour herself a bowl of cereal, and sit at the table in the seat to the right of her mother.

Ellie munched on her Frosted Flakes as her mother continued to read in silence. Eleanor was never quite sure why her mother, who was a receptionist at a small dental office, would be so fascinated with the news. The only reason she could think up was that her mother needed to be aware of current events in order to provide decent small talk with the endless line of waiting patients.

Ellie glanced at the newspaper's front page and read the head line: _Another mysterious bombing rocks London. Death toll now at 19_.

"That's the fourth bombing in three months." Ellie thought to herself.

Everyone in England knew about these odd bombings that were occurring in London and surrounding area. Most people weren't sure what to think about the attacks, while others criticized Scotland Yard for not providing enough information for the public to protect themselves. However, Ellie was starting to believe that Scotland Yard only knew what they had already released to the public.

There seemed to be no evidence pointing to anyone, no pattern as to where or when the next attack would take place, no terrorist groups taking responsibility, and absolutely no witnesses stepping forward with any information. The lack of witnesses puzzled Ellie the most, especially since the last bombing took place in Piccadilly Circus in the middle of rush hour, and killed four people. It was as if the bombings took place and everyone around suddenly forgot that it had happened. Something definitely wasn't adding up.

The sudden sound of creaking floorboards over head indicated that Eleanor's brother, Dennis, was just climbing out of bed. Ellie never did think it was fair that her brother got to sleep in an extra half hour just because his school was closer. There were other schools in that area that Ellie could attend, but her parents, for some reason, didn't like any of them.

Eleanor was rinsing her dishes off in the sink when her brother entered the kitchen.

"Its amazing how refreshed you can feel with an extra half hour of sleep." Dennis smugly commented.

Dennis's gloating about sleeping for thirty minutes longer was also part of the morning ritual. Ellie hadn't been bothered by Dennis's remarks for the past four years, but her brother was too dense to realize that. The best words Ellie could use to describe her brother, with out saying anything that would get her grounded, was big oaf. Dennis was seventeen, two years older than Ellie, but was only one year a head of her in school. Ellie was never quite sure how her brother managed to fail grade two, but leave it to Dennis to find a way.

Dennis's large hand forcefully pushed Eleanor to the side, and he began to rummage through the cupboard, looking for food.

"You know, civilized human beings say 'excuse me' when they want someone to move out of their way." Ellie firmly informed the big oaf.

A low grunt was the only reply that Dennis gave her.

Eleanor glared at her brother for a moment before turning away. She could never stare at her brother for long periods of time when he was in his school uniform before bursting into hysterical laughter. The maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hat of the Smelting's uniform looked more comical on a seventeen year old than it did six years ago when Dennis first wore it.

Ellie took a quick glance at the clock on the wall and saw that it was twenty after seven.

"Bye mum." She quickly pecked her mother on the cheek.

"Bye sweetie." Karen replied without lifting her eyes from the article she was reading.

Ellie briskly walked into the hallway and grabbed her winter coat that was hanging on a hook by the door.

"Hi dad! Bye dad!" Ellie said quickly to the tall, round, dark haired man who was half way down the stair case.

"Have a good day at school dear." Robert Richards groggily said to his daughter, still wiping some sleep from his eye.

Ellie's father worked in an office downtown London as an accountant for several large businesses. Ellie always thought that it had to be the most boring job in the world. All her father did was sit behind a desk, punch up numbers on a computer, and make sure that every thing balanced at the end. Although her father tried to tell her numerous times that his job was much more than that, Ellie was never able to stay awake for the entire explanation.

Eleanor snatched her book bag from its resting place on the floor and headed out the door.

The crisp, cold November air gave Ellie's senses an extra wake up, and she was now feeling more alert. Ellie quickly buttoned up her winter coat and began to walk to the corner where Magnolia Rd. and Magnolia Crescent met. This was the spot where the bus to Pileforth Academy picked up Eleanor every weekday morning. Pileforth Academy was an all girls school on the other side of London. The bus ride took an hour alone, and that was on a good day, not including the nine stops the bus made after picking up Ellie. The bus ride was always so boring, especially since the driver had little tolerance for talking while she was driving. It was possible to get away with talking at a light whisper, but it wasn't very enjoyable to constantly watch the volume of your voice.

After five minutes of waiting, a large burgundy coloured bus with "Pileforth Academy" in grey lettering on the side came rolling down the street. The bus made an abrupt stop where Ellie was standing, and the doors squeaked open. Ellie slowly climbed up the three large steps.

"Good morning Mrs. Coach." Ellie pleasantly greeted the bus driver.

The plump woman with bright red lipstick and short grey curly hair gave a low growl and promptly shut the school bus doors.

If there was anyone who hated mornings more than Ellie, it was Mrs. Coach, although Mrs. Coach seemed to loathe each part of the day as much as the next. The tires made a short screeching sound as the bus took off. Ellie would have fallen flat on her face if she hadn't caught her balance just in time. The bus was fairly empty since there were only three stops before Ellie's, making it very easy to find a seat. Eleanor took a seat in the middle of the bus and crawled over towards the window, placing her bag beside her. The first half of the bus ride was always the worst. Ellie would stare out the window at the exact same scenery the bus would drive by to and from school. It wouldn't be until the bus stopped at Lambeth when Ellie would perk up. She watched as five girls filtered on to the bus one by one. At the sight of a medium height, fifteen year old girl with thick glasses and black-combed hair, Ellie gave a small wave. After getting the girl's attention, Ellie moved her book bag onto her lap, and the girl sat down next to her.

"Morning Jo. How was your weekend?" Ellie asked in a whisper.

"Boring as usual, but I did finish my book." Jo replied, also whispering.

"You mean the one you've already read twelve time before?" Ellie asked in a belittling tone.

"And I'll read it twelve more times if I want to." Jo said defensively.

Ellie was, of course, referring to Jo's favorite book, Jane Austin's Emma. Although Jo loved it, Ellie just didn't find it that interesting. Ellie was more into si-fi, fantasy, and mystery genera books herself.

"How was your weekend?" Jo finally asked in return.

"Same ole, same ole. Finished my homework, got harassed by Dennis and his friends, barricaded myself in my bedroom, eventually ate dinner.... you know, the usual."

Jo gave a small chuckle, trying not to exceed Mrs. Coach's noise limit. Of course she didn't have to worry about being bothered by an older brother. Jo's only sibling was a sister named Dianne who was two years younger, so the only thing she had to worry about was the occasional disappearance of her favorite articles of clothing.

Ellie and Jo had been best friends since their first year at Pileforth Academy. They first met in Mrs. Bunsen's science class. The students had been seated in alphabetical order, and the two girls wound up sitting right next to each other. Jo, who was never good at science, had difficulty with the questions that were assigned in class, but Ellie was right there, willing to help. It was their shared love for reading, vivid imaginations, and casual daydreaming that ensured Ellie and Jo's lasting friendship. Both girls always achieved high grades in all of their classes. Jo's grades always seemed to be a percent or two higher than Ellie's (except in science), but Ellie didn't mind, and was always proud of her best friend's accomplishments.

The school bus finally began to slow its speed as it passed through a wide rod iron gate. Beyond the gate was a long, narrow driveway which lead to a small seventeenth century stone castle.

The castle was originally owned by the Coville family, but the last of their blood line had died out in the late 1950's. In 1961 the castle went up for auction, and was purchased by Charles Pileforth II, who's wife had always dreamed of starting a private all girls school where only the best and brightest would attend.

The castle had gone through many transformations over the decades, and was now looking and feeling more like a school than anything else. The entrance hall was covered with team photos of the various clubs, sports and activities from every single year since the school had been established. The rest of the corridors were filled with thin steel, burgundy lockers, one for each girl. Ellie never found the decor of Pileforth to be very appealing, and was thankful that she was one of the lucky few who lived close enough to be bused to the school, unlike the foreign students who had to live in the damp, musty dorm rooms for ten months.

The bus finally came to a complete stop in front of the large stone archway, and the squeaky doors swung open. Each of the girls carefully stepped off of the bus, and made their way to their first class. Ellie and Jo's first class of the day was English. The mundane ritual of attending another day at school had begun. Ellie swore that each day would be exactly the same as the last if it wasn't for the different homework assignments they got every night.

The school day dragged on, and Ellie was very thankful when the final bell of the day rang enthusiastically. The bus ride home was even more dull than the journey to school since there wasn't any significant events that occurred in the classes.


	2. An Unwanted Crush

Chapter 2: An Unwanted Crush

It was almost 5:00pm when Ellie was walking alone down Magnolia Rd. towards the driveway that lead up to her house. She pushed open the door, which was never locked at this time of day, and almost tripped over a pair of size eleven Nike running shoes that had been carelessly left in the entranceway. She then glanced down and saw that there were four other pairs of running shoes, only one of them belonging to Dennis. Ellie let out a low groan. Dennis's friends were visiting.

Ellie carefully took off her winter coat, placed it on the hook by the door and quietly crept to the staircase. She prayed that she could make it to her room without being noticed, but....

"Hey smelly Ellie, aren't you even going to say hello?"

....it was too late.

Ellie hadn't even touched the second step when she suddenly felt a large hand grab her shoulder and pull her back into a very tight one arm hug against a vastly huge body.

"Dudley Dursley, get your filthy hands off me!" Ellie said in outrage.

"Dennis, I think you need to teach your sister some manners, she doesn't even say 'hello' to your guest." Dudley said, still holding Ellie.

Dennis, and his other friends Malcolm, Piers, and Gordon just stood there, laughing at Ellie's futile attempts to break free of Dudley's grip.

In the old days, Ellie would poke Dudley in the gut with all her might, and he would let go in an instant. But ever since Dudley had taken up boxing, Ellie didn't want to risk the chance of making him angry.

"You know, lately when I ask a girl to go out with me and she turns me down, which is very rare I might add, I just ignore them and move on to the next girl." Dudley spoke very close to Ellie's ear.

"If only I could be so lucky." Ellie mumbled lowly to herself.

"But for you I'm going to make an exception. So what 'da say?"

"Dudley," Ellie spoke very slowly in hope that he would be able to comprehend every word she was about to tell him, "I will never go out with you as long as I'm alive. The very sight of you repulses me, and the foul odor protruding from you body is making me nauseous."

Dennis and the other goons continued to laugh, but abruptly stopped when Dudley shot them an evil glare.

"Come on, you don't really mean that, do you?" Dudley asked lightly, squeezing Ellie even tighter.

"I mean every single word of it, and I meant every word when I turned you down the other fifty million times you've asked me out." Ellie replied firmly, however she was beginning to feel light headed from the lack of blood flowing to her brain.

Dudley finally released his grip, and Ellie ran up the stairs as fast as she could.

"Just wait! One of these days you'll have to say yes! You can't say no forever!" Dudley shouted in a threatening manner.

Ellie sharply turned around at the top of the staircase.

"Just watch me!" She snapped back, and ran into her room, slamming the door behind her.

Ellie released a deep sigh of relief, as she leaned back against the firmly closed door.

"Why me?" She moaned to herself.

Ellie was one of those people who always had a very good memory. She could remember every single insignificant detail of anything that had ever happened in her life. This ability was very handy when it came to school, but was a unwanted curse when it came to an event that she never wanted to remember, for instance, the first time Dudley had asked her out.

It was at Dennis's 15th birthday party, and naturally all of his moronic friends were invited. It had been a very dull party in Ellie's opinion. All the boys wanted to do was play the new video game that Dennis had received from his parents, and eat to their hearts content. Ellie vividly remembered Dudley eating half of the entire birthday cake alone, and that was after he had finished off four hamburgers, five hot dogs, four finger sandwiches, two heaping piles of coleslaw and macaroni salad (each), five cup cakes, and seven cans of cola. Ellie had never seen a human being eat so much at once, and was very appalled by the sight of it. It was later on when Dudley approached Ellie and said "Hey you're not ugly, wanna be my girlfriend?"

Ellie had never been so caught of guard by such a question in her life. When she finally gained her composure she politely replied "No, I'm not interested in having a boyfriend right now."

From that moment on, Dudley would constantly ask Ellie on a date every time he saw her, and Ellie would promptly turn him down. It seemed that no matter what insults Ellie threw at Dudley, they would just bounce off him. Two years of Dudley Dursley asking you out would be enough to drive anyone mad, but somehow Ellie had kept her sanity.

She quickly tried to push the horrid memory out of her mind, and threw herself face down on her double bed. Her long light brown hair cascaded down her face as she tried to push all of her tensions and frustrations in to a dark corner in the pit of her stomach.

After a few minutes of laying peacefully on her soft bed, Ellie sat up. Her bedroom had always been her sanctuary, a place where she could be alone, and her imagination would take flight.

The walls were painted a light purple colour with little decoration. Only two pictures hung on her walls. One of her family, which was taken when she was three, and the other was a large poster of a gorgeous unicorn. A tall but narrow bookshelf covered the wall at the foot of Ellie's bed. Half of the shelves were filled with novels, mostly fantasy and mystery. The remaining shelves were covered with unicorn figurines of all different styles and shapes. Next to Ellie's bed was a wide writing desk which her alarm clock sat on, along with twenty-five other unicorn figurines.

Needless to say, Ellie loved unicorns. She had been collecting them since she was four years old when her grandmother gave her a tiny glass unicorn for her birthday. It was the unicorn's beauty, purity, mystery and innocents that attracted Ellie to them so much.

Just a few months ago, on Ellie's 15th birthday, her parents commented that she was too old to have such a childish collection, and suggested that she get rid of them. Naturally Ellie was outraged, and told her parents to stay out of her life and to mind their own business. So the unicorn collection stayed put, and her parents didn't dare bring up the subject again.

After gazing at the twenty-five figurines on her desk, Ellie suddenly hear her mother's voice coming from the bottom of the staircase, announcing that dinner was ready. Feeling quite famished, Ellie jumped of her bed and headed down stairs.


	3. The Strange Coins

Chapter 3: The Strange Coins

November quickly flew by, and before Ellie knew it Christmas break had arrived. Every year Ellie spent the first day of Christmas break doing all her Christmas shopping in downtown London. The previous year, however, hadn't been as pleasant as the others. Both Karen and Robert Richards were very busy with work that day, and Ellie had no choice but to go shopping with Dennis, who had just passed his final driving test. The entire ride to Oxford Street was terrifying, and Ellie was relieved that she was still in one piece when Dennis pulled into a parking garage.

This year Ellie was thankful to learn that her mother had errands of her own to do downtown, and would be driving Dennis and her to Oxford street. But of course there was a down side. Ellie's mother had dropped her and Dennis off at Cavendish Square, and before either of them had a chance to step out of the car the lecturing tone of Mrs. Richards rang out.

"Dennis, I want you to keep a close eye on your sister. Don't let her go off by herself. I don't want her getting abducted by some nutter. Don't even leave her side. Is that understood?"

"Yes mum." Dennis droned as he and Ellie climbed out of the car.

"I mean it!" Mrs. Richards said more forcefully.

Dennis gave an affirming head nod.

"Alright," Mrs. Richards reluctantly began, "I'll meet you both at this very spot in.." She glanced at her watch, "three hours. That should be plenty of time to get your shopping done."

"Three hours." Dennis repeated just to show that he was paying attention.

Mrs. Richards gave him a stern look before finally driving off.

Not even thirty seconds later, which was sooner than Ellie expected, Dennis turned to her and said, "I'm meeting my friends at the arcade. If your not back here in three hours you'll be spending Christmas in the intensive care ward. Got it?" He stared her down, waiting for a response.

Ellie had long since learned to stare back.

"Have I ever let you down before?" She grinned.

Dennis gave Ellie one last hard glare before walking away.

Ellie's parents were always worried that she would be kidnaped or mugged if she was ever in London alone without supervision. Little did they know that Dennis had ditched Ellie last year as well, and she was never abducted by any nutters. Ellie had considered telling on Dennis, despite his threats, but that would mean that she wouldn't get a chance to take her time shopping and walking the streets of downtown London without anyone slowing her pace.

After a few moments of considering where she would like to shop first, Ellie finally decided on Debenhams, which was only a block away. The pavement was still damp from the drizzle of rain earlier that morning. The sky was a pale grey, threatening more rain, but it was holing off for now.

Ellie stepped into Debenhams and was amazed by all the holiday decorations. Boughs of holly were placed on the clothing racks, various types of garland were draped along the walls, and dozens of sparkling, colourful ornaments hung from the ceiling. It was early afternoon, and the store wasn't too busy, since most people were still at work.

After two hours of walking in almost every department, Ellie had all of her Christmas shopping done. She had picked out a beautiful yellow print blouse and matching skirt for her mother, a light blue twill shirt and silk tie for her father, for Dennis she got a forest green knit sweater and a pack of Nike socks (the only kind he'd wear), and she got Jo a new red book bag, since the one she had was starting to fall apart. Ellie also bought a box of Belgium chocolates for her cousin Nicole, who always use to visit, and even babysat Ellie when she was younger. Ellie had always thought of Nicole as the sister she never had, but always wanted. However, Nicole's visits became less frequent when she started University, and even more infrequent when she got married and moved to Luton. But Ellie still kept in contact with Nicole through e-mail, and bought her a birthday and Christmas present every year.

Since she still had an hour till her mother was to pick her up, Ellie took her time walking back to Cavendish Square, and peeked in every store window on her way there. She also stopped in a little café and bought herself a hot chocolate and a biscuit.

Ellie took a seat by the window and watched the bustling shoppers and streams of cars pass by.

Suddenly, Ellie's peaceful time to herself was interrupted by an increasingly loud discussion at the cash counter. A young, blond server was having a dispute with a middle aged man wearing a deep purple cloak.

"I'm sorry sir, but you don't have enough money."

"But its all I have. I need something to eat."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you."

"What if I give you some of these?" The man pulled out a few odd looking silver coins and one large gold coin out of his pocket.

"I'm sorry, we don't take any foreign currency." The server was trying to stay calm. "If you just go to the bank-"

"But I'm hungry now!" The man shouted.

"Sir, if you continue to disturb my customers I'll have to ask you to leave." The server said sternly.

The man was looking very frustrated, but finally left the café on his own accord.

Ellie always had a very good memory, and she knew that it wasn't the first time she had seen those strange coins before. In fact it had been the twelfth time. The first time had been when she was five years old, shopping for her first two wheel bike. It was the middle of summer, and a woman wearing winter boots, orange plaid pants, a thin pink shirt and a multi-coloured floral apron on top of it all was trying to buy a vibrant green mackintosh with the same odd coins.

"Some people shouldn't be allowed in public." Was her mother's only comment.

A year and a half later, Ellie noticed a man wearing a rich brown cloak in Selfridges holding those weird coins. When she questioned her father about the man's strange clothing her replied, "Its probably an uniform for some strange club or cult. Just ignore it sweetie, its none of our business."

But Ellie couldn't ignore it. In nine separate occasions Ellie had noticed men and women of different ages, either wearing a cloak or a bizarre ensemble of clothing in possession of those odd looking coins.

Ellie glanced down at her watch and saw that she had five minutes to get to the meeting spot. As she left the café an unsettling thought popped into her head. What if this strange cult, as her father referred to them, was responsible for the unexplained bombings around London? They seem to be quite and keep to themselves. But just because they dress weird doesn't make them a threat to society, besides they seem harmless.

Ellie's thoughts continued to go back and forth until she noticed Dennis walking down the street with only one shopping bag in his hand. Ellie wouldn't be surprised if he had only bought something for himself. Not even twenty seconds after standing together Mrs. Richards pulled up in front of them. Ellie shoved her bags of purchases into the back seat next to her. She spent the entire ride home continuously slapping the back of Dennis's hand to prevent him from peeking into the bags.

"Did you two have fun shopping together?" Mrs. Richards pleasantly asked.

Ellie remained silent.

"Of course we did! Right smelly Ellie?" Dennis glanced back at her from the front seat.

"The best time of my life." Ellie mumbled.


	4. Bad News

Chapter 4: Bad News

Christmas day was spectacular. There were loads of presents, a delectable feast, and a scrumptious pudding to follow. Ellie received three long sleeved shirts, two pairs of pants and six new novels (four fantasy, two mystery). Her cousin Nicole gave her a gorgeous porcelain unicorn for her collection.

Just as Ellie was getting use to the break from school, she found herself back on the Pileforth Academy bus. School was just as boring as Ellie remembered, but not for long. The second half of the school year was always more hectic than the first since the teachers assigned more homework, and projects to better prepare the students for the end of the year exams. January flew by, and Ellie hardly noticed.

On February 6th Pileforth Academy sent a letter of notice home with every student, notifying parents that the school would be closed on February 18th for extermination. Pileforth Academy was a very old castle, and naturally had hundreds of bugs and rodents crawling around.

"But why fumigate the castle now?" Ellie thought out loud on the bus ride home.

"Who knows?" Jo replied. "One of the rumors going around the school is that the health inspector came to look at the kitchen, and demanded that changes be made. The other rumor is that the new teacher Mrs. Creemore is terrified of rats and found one scampering down the hallway in front of her office. Whether either story is true is pure speculation."

"I personally think that they should have called the exterminators years ago, but now that the problem has gotten way out of hand they're trying to fix it before the health inspector does come." Ellie stated after giving the situation some thought.

"Well, what ever the reason is, we get a long weekend." Jo smiled.

"Yeah, and at least we don't have to spend the weekend in a hostel like the girls who live in the dormitories." Ellie grinned.

Ellie couldn't wait to get home and gloat about her extra long weekend to Dennis, and the smile stayed on her face the entire bus ride home. But little did Ellie know how drastic her mood would change later on that night.

Dinner had just ended and Ellie made her way up to her room to do her homework. Half way up the staircase the sound of a news bulletin on TV caught her attention.

_"Another bombing has taken place in London's west end this afternoon." _ The reporter's voice said gravely. _"Thirteen people are dead, making this the most fatal bombing yet..."_

The sound of the phone ringing interrupted the news cast, and Ellie continued on to her room.

Everything had been so quiet and peaceful, there hadn't been a bombing in months, but now all the chaos and panic would set in again.

After a half hour of working on her math homework, Ellie heard a soft knocking at her bedroom door. Right away she knew it wasn't Dennis, since he never bothered to knock.

"Come in!" Ellie said loudly, turning in her desk chair to face the door.

Karen Richards entered the room looking very distraught and red eyed.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked immediately.

Mrs. Richards took a seat on the edge of Ellie's bed and stared at the floor quietly for a moment.

"Your father just got off the phone with your Aunt Linda." Her voice trembled. "It turns out that...." She trailed off as tears welded up in her eyes.

Ellie sat in her desk chair, transfixed at her mother's state of grief. Obviously something terrible happened, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear this news or not.

"... The bombing in London today ... Your cousin Nicole was in the area and...."

Ellie's heart stopped and her body went numb.

_Please just say she was only injured! Please God, please!_ Ellie's thoughts raced. She tried to fight off the tears, but it was a losing battle.

"The funeral will be held next week...." Mrs. Richards choked on her sobs.

That was it. Ellie's worst fears had been confirmed, and now there was no stopping the river of tears that flowed down her cheeks.

Mrs. Richards stood up and pulled her daughter into a consoling hug, but Ellie wasn't felling any solace at all.

Once alone Ellie flung herself onto her bed, and cried heavily into her pillow. She felt as if she was trapped in a nightmare, and prayed that she would wake up soon. But she didn't wake up, it was all real. Ellie always thought of Nicole as an older sister, and now she felt like she had lost an older sister. It had just been over a month when Ellie last saw Nicole at Christmas. She was healthy and happy, and now she was gone.

Ellie didn't go to school the next day. She was far too grief stricken to be able to focus on any of her lessons. This unexplained absents caused Jo to phone the second she got home.

"Are you alright? Are you sick? There is that flu bug going around." Jo said concerned.

"No, its nothing like that." Ellie replied glumly, and told Jo about Nicole's death.

"Oh Ellie, I'm so sorry to hear that." Jo said after a moment of stunned silence. "When is the funeral being held?"

"On the 12th. Scotland Yard is holding her body until all their preliminary investigations are over, which they expect will take five days." Ellie said lowly.

"When will you be back at school?" Jo asked.

"Tomorrow. I can't be missing too many classes, or I'll fall too far behind. Besides, I only needed the one day off to get over the initial shock of her death. I'll be okay by tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Jo asked skeptically.

"Well, I won't be all cheery and happy, but I'll be able to focus in class." Ellie answered. "My mum phoned the school this morning to tell them why I wasn't going to be there, so its not like the teachers won't know."

It was nearing dinner time. Jo quickly gave Ellie the homework that had been assigned that day, and said "good bye" followed by "see you tomorrow."

The worst thing about going to an all girls school is the constant gossiping. If someone had missed one day of classes the entire school would know about it, and the rumors would start to fly. At first everyone believed that Ellie was sick with the flu and was still contagious. An invisible five foot perimeter formed around her as she walked down the halls. By second period the new rumor was that Ellie was so sick that she only had three days left to live, and was in denial. It was early afternoon when the truth finally made its way around the school about Ellie's cousin being one of the casualties in the latest bombing attack.

By the time the bell rang to let out the last class, Ellie was so sick and tired of every single person approaching her and offering their condolences. She knew they meant well, but most of the girls who approached her didn't even know her, many of them Ellie didn't even recognize.

Why bother speaking to someone who you're never going to talk to again? Why should they suddenly care about her life?

Every time someone said "I'm sorry about your cousin" was just one more reminder that Ellie would never see Nicole ever again.


	5. The Funeral

Chapter 5: The Funeral

Two days later, Ellie learned that her and her family would be leaving a day early for the funeral. The funeral was being held at 11:00am in Bedford, where Ellie's aunt and uncle lived. Her parents thought it would be best if they spent the night at a local hotel instead of waking up early for the long drive. Ellie later learned that the real reason they would be leaving a day early was because her aunt and uncle had planed a viewing of Nicole's body at the local funeral parlor, the night before the funeral ceremony.

The day of the viewing arrived, and the Richards's car slowly pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home. Once inside, there were two rooms reserved for Nicole's family and friends. Ellie was surprised at the number of people who came to pay their last respects to Nicole. It seemed as if everyone who ever knew her was there. Ellie entered the first of the two rooms and glanced around. It was quite crowded with people. There were only about a dozen chairs, so most of them were standing in groups, consoling one another. The walls were covered in a bland beige wallpaper, and didn't have any paintings for decoration. There were a couple of ferns sparsely around the room for colour. Small, round mahogany tables were place at every corner of the room, each with a tissue box on top.

A small newspaper clipping on top of the table closest to Ellie caught her eye. She picked it up and saw that it was Nicole's obituary.

_Nicole Wright, wife of Kenneth Wright, only child of Simon and Linda Payne, was tragically killed on Wednesday, February 6th in the most recent bombing in downtown London. Nicole was a graduate from Oxford, and had been working for Bloomsbury Inc. in their Marketing Department for over three years. She will be sadly missed by her family and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Payne request anyone with information about the bombing to please contact Scotland Yard immediately._

Ellie slowly placed the newspaper clipping back on the table, and wiped the tear from her eye. She began to make her way into the second, adjoining room, where her parents had gone. This room was covered with the same boring wallpaper as the last, but the decorations were a bit different. Two large wreaths of flowers flanked each end of the long ebony coffin that was open at the side of the room. Fewer people were gathered here. Ellie noticed her aunt Linda surrounded by a circle of six women, all of them weeping. Her parents were standing at the opposite side of the room, talking to her father's cousin Greg. Ellie just barely noticed her uncle Simon sitting in the furthest corner of the room, by himself, with a half glass of amber liquid in his hand. He was looking very depressed and alone, and to make matters worse, no one was attempting to comfort him.

"When are people going to get over it?! It happened over two years ago for God's sake!" Ellie thought to herself.

It was the most bizarre incident to ever happen in Ellie's family, but it seemed that nobody would forget about it.

Two August's ago uncle Simon's close friend from school, Mr. Roberts who was a camp site manager, called him up looking for some extra assistance. Mr. Roberts had been flooded with hundreds of pre-bookings for his camp site, which was extremely unusual, and couldn't handle the large number of campers on his own. Uncle Simon, who had been recently laid off from his job (downsizing), agreed to help without hesitation. He was only suppose to be gone for the evening, but aunt Linda became very worried when he didn't arrive home the next morning. Uncle Simon hadn't even phoned to say he would be late. A neighborhood search party was dispatched immediately, but had ended in a matter of minutes. Uncle Simon had been found only two streets over from his own house. The reason he was late was because he couldn't remember exactly where he lived. He was very disoriented and incoherent, mumbling strange words like "Quiddich", "Quaffle", and "Sickle". Aunt Linda was horrified at her husbands state of mind, and he was taken to the hospital right away. The hospital psychiatrist couldn't determine the cause of uncle Simon's memory loss or insanity. Somehow, after a week, the problem corrected its self, and uncle Simon was back to normal... for the most part. He still has no recollection of the night he went to help Mr. Roberts, and occasionally says odd things in his sleep like "coins the size of hubcaps" and "strange foreigner rally". Neither Mr. Roberts or his family have any memory of that night either. It was as if it had been completely erased from their minds.

Even though uncle Simon was now fully sound of mind, everyone still treated him as if he was about to loose his sanity at any moment.

"We don't know what caused it in the first place, so what's to say it won't come back." Ellie had overheard her aunt Linda say the following Christmas.

Ellie had always felt sorry for her uncle Simon, but now she felt worse. In two years he had lost his job, his mind (temporally), and now he had lost his only daughter.

Ellie glanced back at the opened coffin. She never did feel comfortable around dead bodies (then again, who did?). Ellie could remember going to her grandmother's viewing when she was six. The sight of her grandmother's dead body gave her nightmares for a month.

After standing in the same spot for several minutes, Ellie gathered up her courage, took a deep breath, and slowly walked towards the open coffin. She could feel her stomach start to squirm as she got closer and closer.

Nicole's skin was a pale grey. Her cheeks looked as if they had been touched up by a soft rose coloured blush, and her lips were painted in a coral lipstick. Her deep brown eyes were closed, and a light mauve eyeshadow covered her eyelids. The dark curly locks of hair rested on her shoulders. But there was something about Nicole's appearance that struck Ellie as being very odd.

"She was always very found of you." A raspy voice spoke behind Ellie's left shoulder.

Ellie turned to look at her aunt Linda, who's eyes were very red and puffy.

"She always thought of you as a younger sister."

Ellie wasn't quite sure how to respond to her aunts words, and just gave a weak smile.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Aunt Linda asked as she gazed down at her daughter.

Ellie gave a small nod as she glanced back at Nicole's body, but that's was the thing that was troubling her. Usually when people die in an explosion there isn't much left of them, and if there are body remains, they're usually badly damaged. Nicole, however, didn't have a mark on her, not even a bruise on her arm. She looked completely unharmed. Her face was as flawless as a wax figure at Madam Tussauds.

"Aunt Linda," Ellie began gently, "I was just wondering how far Nicole was from the actual explosion?"

Aunt Linda continued to stare down gravely at her daughter's body.

"Scotland Yard estimated that she had been standing ten feet away from the epicenter of the blast." She replied softly without lifting her eyes. "I should go see your father. I haven't talked to him yet."

Ellie watched her aunt slowly cross the room to where her parents were standing.

Suddenly Ellie wasn't feeling as depressed and grief stricken as she did when she first arrived. An unsettling feeling was gnawing away at her insides. Something wasn't adding up. There was no way Nicole could have been ten feet away from the explosion and not have a single scratch on her face or arms. Especially a blast that killed a total of thirteen people. Ellie was now convinced that her cousin wasn't killed by a bomb at all.


	6. The Search For Answers

Chapter 6: The Search For Answers

That night Ellie didn't sleep a wink in her hotel bed. She always had difficulty sleeping in unfamiliar places, but tonight was worse. Questions concerning Nicole's death kept her up.

_What really killed her? How could it also kill twelve other people? Why claim that it was a bomb? What are they covering up? Who is covering it up? Why doesn't anyone else seem to notice?_

These questions even continued to plage Ellie's mind through out the funeral service the next day. Finally during the drive home Ellie blurted out one of the questions that had been troubling her.

"Do you think that it was a bit odd that Nicole didn't have a scratch on her? I mean that has to be very unusual for someone who died in a bomb explosion."

Everyone remained silent. Ellie's parents kept staring at the road ahead of them, and Dennis shot her a rude glare.

"Most of the damage was probably done to her torso and legs which were covered up by the dress she was buried in." Mrs. Richards replied flatly, as if she didn't want the subject brought up ever again.

Ellie wasn't buying it. Even if most of the damage had been done to Nicole's lower body there would still have to be at least one mark made on her head or arms.

"How was the funeral?" Jo asked the next morning on the Pileforth Academy bus.

Ellie began to tell Jo every detail about the funeral, including Nicole's flawless appearance, and her mother's lame attempt at explaining it.

"So what do you think really killed her?" Jo asked in astonishment.

"I don't know." Ellie said in a defeated tone. She hadn't been able to come up with one single theory that could answer all the questions swimming in her head.

"I guess there's only one thing I can do." Ellie said conclusively.

Jo gave her a puzzled look.

"I'll just have to go to the site of Nicole's death, and investigate what killed her myself."

"Ellie, that's what Scotland Yard is for." Jo said.

"Well, apparently they're not doing a very good job."

"I think those mystery novels have been a bad influence on you." Jo cooly commented.

Ellie shot her an unamused glare.

By the time the bus was ready to take Ellie and Jo home, Ellie had come up with a plan to investigate Nicole's death.

"Tonight I'll ask my parents if I can stay at your house this weekend, and you can make sure its alright with your parents. We even have Monday off, so that'll give us an extra day."

"An extra day for what?" Jo asked baffled.

Ellie continued, not paying any attention to Jo.

"Then on Saturday, we'll tell your parents that we're going to the cinema, when in fact we're really going to take the tube to Lancaster Square underground station. Then its just two blocks north to the West Street Restaurant. We'll be home in time for dinner."

"Why are we going to the West Street Restaurant?" Jo asked still puzzled.

"Because that's where Nicole was killed." Ellie casually replied.

"Are you still going on about that?!" Jo exclaimed. "Do you really think that two fifteen year old girls, no matter how intelligent we may be, are going to solve your cousin's death when Scotland Yard can't? You're more daft than I thought. I'd prefer not to get in trouble on my long weekend, thank you very much!"

"Jo, we're not going to get into trouble, because our parents will think that we're at the movies."

"Wait a minute! I can't go out this Saturday. I promised my next door neighbor that I'd babysit their kids while they're out for the day. I can't back out on them now." Jo said.

"Then I guess you're not coming." Ellie said without hesitation.

"You can't go alone!" Jo protested. "Can't you wait till Sunday?"

"Jo, knowing that I've been lied to about my cousin's death is driving me insane. I need to get some answers as soon as possible, and if that means going by myself, then I'm going by myself." Ellie said firmly.

"So how do you plan on getting downtown on your own?" Jo asked, hoping to put a damper on Ellie's plan, but it backfired. Ellie took a moment to think.

"You live closer to downtown, so I can still get my parents to drop me off at your house Saturday morning. Then I can make my way to the tube station from there. You can tell your parents that I won't be arriving till after dinner, and that will give me plenty of time to snoop around. Then on Sunday we can both go downtown, and I can show you everything I discovered."

Jo gave Ellie an uneasy look. She didn't have much faith in her best friend's plan.

"I don't feel comfortable lying to my parents." Jo said warily.

"You're not lying to your parents. You're telling them that I won't be arriving till after dinner, which I won't be." Ellie said convincingly. "I on the other hand _will_ be lying to my parents, but you don't have to worry about that."

Jo still wasn't comfortable with Ellie going downtown on her own.

"What if something happens to you?" Jo asked.

"I've been to London by myself before."

This answer wasn't good enough for Jo.

"Look, if anything happens I'll call you." Ellie said reassuringly.

"Alright, fine." Jo said reluctantly. "I still wish you'd wait till Sunday."

"Everything is going to be fine." Ellie said confidently.

Saturday morning, Karen Richards dropped Ellie off in front of Jo's house. Ellie had only waked half way up the drive way when her mother pulled away, just as Ellie had hoped.

She quickly got back on the side walk and headed to the underground station. After getting off at Lancaster Square, just as she had planned, Ellie started walking north on Charing Cross Road. She then turned left on West Street, and soon she found herself in front of the West Street Restaurant.

The street looked perfectly normal. There was no construction being done, no repairs, no boarded up windows, absolutely nothing that showed there had been a bombing there just ten days ago. The most valid explanation would be that the repairs had already been done, but in all of her life, Ellie had never know construction or maintenance workers to be finished so quickly. An explosion that killed thirteen people must have left a pretty big mess, but there wasn't even a crack in the pavement.

Ellie walked back and forth along the street, hoping that something out of place would catch her eye. After passing the restaurant for the seventh time, something, more like someone, caught Ellie's attention. A man wearing a royal blue cloak had just met up with another man, who was wearing an emerald green cloak. Both men were talking lowly to each other, the one in the green occasionally pointed at a spot on the sidewalk, just ten feet from where they were standing.

Ellie suddenly felt that these two men knew something about the explosion that took place. She continued to keep a close eye on them, but was frustrated that she was too far to be able to hear a word they were saying. After five minutes, the men started to walk away. For some reason Ellie felt the urge to follow them. She glanced down at her watch and saw that she still had plenty of time before she had to be at Jo's. The men walked north on Charing Cross Road, and Ellie walked a safe, non suspicious distance behind them. After only walking a block, the two men stopped, and glanced around cautiously, as if they were making sure they weren't being watched. Ellie quickly ducked into a nearby alley. She carefully peeked around the corner, and was astonished when the two men had vanished. Ellie frantically looked up and down the street, but there wasn't any sign of either one.

Completely perplexed, Ellie waked to the very spot where she last saw the two men standing. She did a full 360 degree turn. There was no alley way or road for the men to go down without her seeing, and they weren't in the book or record store that they had been standing in front of.

Ellie quickly backed herself against the wall, so she would be out of the path of the dozens of people walking by, minding their own business. She kept looking up and down Charing Cross Road, wondering if she had just imagined the men in cloaks, or if something very strange was going on.


	7. The Pub That Wasn't There

Chapter 7: The Pub That Wasn't There

Ellie wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She hadn't found any clues concerning Nicole's death, and now she had even more questions about the men in cloaks. She leaned back against the wall, her head making a slight 'thud' from her frustration. Suddenly Ellie had the feeling that something was off. There was something odd about the wall she was leaning against. She quickly turned around and couldn't believe her eyes. An old, grubby looking building was standing right behind her. Ellie thought it was strange that she hadn't noticed the building before, not even when she was standing right next to it.

Suddenly a wild thought crossed Ellie's mind. What if the two men disappeared into this building. After all, it did look like a place where a 'bizarre cult' would hold their meetings. After a few minutes Ellie managed to locate the door, which seemed to blend in very well with the wall. She grasped the door knob, and took a deep breath, preparing herself for anything. With one swift movement Ellie swung open the door, and quickly jumped inside. Immediately she saw that there was a large number of people in the room, and she hid behind the closest object she could find, which happened to be a coat rack covered with cloaks. When her eyes fully adjusted to the dim lighting, Ellie could see that she had landed herself in a pub. All the patrons were either dressed in cloaks, or other strange articles of clothing. The barman was carrying a tray of drinks to a table which seated four women. Each of the drinks were weirder than the next. There was a bright flourescent pink one, another was overflowing with foam, steam was emanating from another, and one even had flames shooting out of it. All four women paid with the same strange coins Ellie had seen during her Christmas shopping. Most people were having very animated conversations with each other, while others chose to sit quietly alone. Nobody seemed to take any notice of Ellie, and she was fairly sure that none of them knew she was there, but she still didn't feel safe enough to come out from her hiding spot. Ellie's eyes wandered from table to table. She finally noticed the two men who she had followed into this strange pub sitting at the far side of the room. After several minutes of just simply observing everything, Ellie realized that the pub was looking emptier than it had when she first arrived, but no one had passed her to exit through the door. Where had they all gone?

Suddenly the men in the blue and green cloaks stood from their table and headed towards the back of the pub. Ellie caught sight of a door that had been partially blocked from her view by a thick wooden pillar. After the men exited through the back door, Ellie shut her eyes, trying to think what to do next. Purely fuled by curiosity, an idea began to form in Ellie's mind. She carefully began looking through the cloaks that were hanging in front of her, searching for the smallest one. She finally picked out a deep chocolate brown one, and draped it over her shoulders. Ellie then casually walked over to the back door, trying not to draw any attention to herself, nor make eye contact with anyone. Once at her destination, she confidently opened the door, as if it was a door she had been through a hundred times. To Ellie's dismay there was nothing but an empty walled courtyard with a dustbin and a few weeds on the other side.

"They disappeared on me again!" Ellie said out loud in disbelief.

She searched high and low, looking for a secret passage out of the court yard, but nothing was working, not even the dustbin or any of the weeds. Soon Ellie found herself leaning against each of the walls hoping that a secret door or building would magically appear like last time, but that plan proved to be hopeless as well.

"What am I doing?" Ellie asked herself, coming to her senses. "I followed two strangely dressed men into a very odd pub which I'd never seen before, and now I'm in the back looking for a secret passage way, when I should be looking for clues about Nicole's death."

Ellie turned to go back through the door, but the sound of voices growing louder on the other side made her stop. Someone was coming! With absolutely no where to hide, Ellie scrunched herself into a tiny ball in the most shadowy corner of the courtyard, and prayed that she wouldn't be noticed.

Two women walked through the door, still carrying on with their conversation.

".... such an awful time de-gnoming the yard yesterday. It always gets so out of hand when the children are at school." The first woman said. She was wearing a large orange hat with various feathers that looked unfamiliar to Ellie.

The second woman, who was wearing a light violet cloak, nodded in agreement. Then the first woman pulled out a long, smooth stick from her pocket, and tapped one of the bricks in the center of the wall three times.

To Ellie's astonishment, the brick began to quiver, and a small hole formed in the wall. The hole grew larger and larger until it formed an arch way that led to a cobble-stone path with dozens of shops along either side. The two women stepped through the arch, unaware to the fact that Ellie had been in the courtyard the entire time. Before Ellie could even fathom what she had just witnessed, she had stood up, and ran through the arch way before it sealed itself.


	8. The World Beyond The Wall

Chapter 8: The World Beyond The Wall

Ellie made it safely through the brick wall. She had only walked a few steps forward when she felt the sensation of being pulled backward. Turning around Ellie saw that the tail end of her "borrowed" cloak hadn't made it through the wall. She tugged on the cloak with all her might until it finally ripped free. A fragment of material was left sticking out of the wall.

Ellie stared at the now solid brick wall in horror.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She thought in a panic.

She was trapped in a place where she didn't belong, and now she had no way of getting back to the other side. Ellie quickly glanced down at her watch. She still had almost four hours before she had to be at Jo's house, but without knowing when, or if she could get back through the brick wall, Ellie didn't know if she would get there in time. As she turned around to face the cobble-stone path, all her panic and worry instantly changed to wonder and amazement.

"Since I have time to kill, I might as well poke around a bit." Ellie mumbled to herself.

The alleyway seemed to have an ancient feel to it. Ellie couldn't believe her eyes as she looked at all the store fronts. One store had several stacks of cauldrons piled in front, all different sizes and made from different metals. Another shop had dozens of owls sitting on perches, anxiously waiting to be bought. Ellie then noticed a group of young children huddled around a store front window, all whispering excitedly. The children couldn't be more than nine years old, but they were all gawking at a broomstick which hung under a sign that read _Firebolt_.

Ellie was beginning to feel dizzy from her eyes darting back and forth from one store front to the next. She carefully weaved in and out of the busy shoppers that walked by. All of the shoppers were dressed in a cloak of some sort and were also using the strange looking coins to make their purchases.

"I wonder where they're getting those coins from." Ellie thought to herself.

It was as if someone had herd her question, because Ellie suddenly found her self staring at a tall white building that had _Gringotts Wizarding Bank_ etched in gold lettering on it.

_"Wizards!"_ Ellie quietly gasped. She knew that these people had something to do with magic, but she was very hesitant in giving them a proper name. How was she supposed to know what they referred to themselves as? Everything was starting to make a bit more sense.

Ellie gaped up at the tall white building which towered over the rest of the shops. Her eyes slowly made their way down to the large burnished bronze entrance doors. Next to the door stood a very short creature with a pointed beard, long fingers and feet, dressed in a red and gold uniform. The creature was gazing suspiciously at Ellie, who had been transfixed with the building for quite a while now. Ellie snapped out of her stupor and quickly headed over to the _Magical Menagerie_, just because it was the closest shop.

She made herself appear to be window shopping, and even though some of the animals on the other side of the glass were very weird and unfamiliar to Ellie, her thoughts were still focused on the bank.

"I wonder if I could exchange my money for some of those strange coins."

_"You don't belong here!"_ A voice originating from the back of Ellie's mind said.

"I need to blend in more, and I can't with British pounds."

_"This is madness!"_

"No, it's an adventure!" Ellie thought back. "I've stumbled across a secret world of wizards that no one seems to know about. Jo, and anyone else for that matter wouldn't believe me if I told them, so I'll have to bring something back as proof. But I can't bring something back without buying it, and I can't buy it with the money I've got."

The argument with the voice inside her head seemed to be over, but Ellie was still too timid to walk pass the troll, goblin thingy, or whatever it was.

She carefully watched an elderly woman out of the corner of her eye walk up the white stone steps of the bank. The woman gave a slight bow to the creature, and casually entered through the bronze doors.

"That doesn't look too difficult." Ellie thought to herself.

Now that she knew what she had to do, Ellie felt more confident about going into the wizard bank.

Ellie casually walked up the white steps, gave the goblin a small bow, and pushed open the bronze doors. The goblin didn't say a thing as Ellie entered the bank, and he didn't try to stop her either.

"So far, so good." Ellie thought to herself, but now she was facing another pair of doors. These ones were silver with words engraved on them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn,_

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours, _

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

"That's a freaky poem." Ellie commented. "It's a good thing I'm not planning to steal anything."

A pair of goblins bowed to Ellie as she passed through the silver doors. She now found herself in a vast marble hall, with hundreds of goblins sitting behind a long wooden counter. More goblins were showing people in and out of the countless doors that lined the walls. A small sign with an arrow saying "exchanges" caught Ellie's attention, directing to the closest counter on the right. A woman in light pink robes was already being served, so Ellie lined up in queue, and waited for her turn, her eyes still wandering over the bank.

"Next please!" A surly voice snapped.

Ellie watched the pink robed lady walk by, with several ten pound notes in her hand. It was the first time she had seen a wizard in possession of a familiar currency.

"Next please!" The voice said louder.

Ellie looked at the counter and saw the goblin impatiently staring at her, as he drummed his long fingers on the counter top. She quickly approached the counter, and shoved her hand in her pocket, grabbing all the pounds and pence she had.

"I'd like to exchange this please." Ellie said politely as she placed her money on the counter.

The goblin gave Ellie a disdainful glare and disappeared behind the counter. When he reappeared, the goblin placed a pile of coins on the counter, and removed Ellie's money.

"Will that be all?" He slowly asked.

"Yes, thank you." Ellie replied, and she shoved the pile of coins in her pocket with out even glancing at them.

Ellie knew it would be far too suspicious if she stopped to examine the coins while she was still in the bank, so she waited until she found a quiet spot off to the side of the cobble stone path.

The large gold coin had a dragon on it with the word 'Galleon' around the edge and the number one. The silver coin had a creature with wings that Ellie had never seen before, and said 'Sickle' on it. The smallest coin was bronze with a strange fish on it, and was apparently called a 'Knut'.

"Galleon, Sickle and Knut. That shouldn't be too hard to remember." Ellie mumbled to herself.

In total she was given three Galleons, eleven Sickles and nineteen Knuts.

Suddenly the street and shops seemed to appear much different to Ellie. Before the stores were filled with wonderful and interesting objects and creatures that filled Ellie with awe and amazement. Now the stores were filled with wonderful and interesting objects and creatures that filled Ellie with awe and amazement, and that she could now buy.

The first question that popped into Ellie's mind was 'what should I buy first?'

The answer she got was a low rumbling in her stomach. It had been ages since she had eaten breakfast.

The only place Ellie could find something to eat was at Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlour. Although she was hoping to find something more substantial, Ellie wasn't about to argue with herself about having ice-cream for lunch. She sat at a small empty round table outside the parlour, and ordered a mint-chocolate nut swirl sundae. It had to be the most scrumptious ice-cream Ellie had ever tasted, and she was quite disappointed when she had finished it in two minutes.

With her stomach now full, Ellie began to search the stores for something that would prove that she had been in a wizarding world, but she had great difficulty finding something she could either afford or take home with ease.

An owl or pet form the Magical Menagerie would be too high maintenance, plus her parents wouldn't want her to bring home any strange animals. A quill from the stationary shop wouldn't prove anything, and a cauldron was too heavy to carry. Robes were too expensive, as were magic wands. The joke shop had numerous items Ellie could afford, but she wasn't much of a prankster.

Finally Ellie came to the bookstore Flourish and Blotts, but she was very apprehensive about going in. For some reason she feared that she would spend too much time gaping at the books and arrive at Jo's house late, even though she still had three hours to kill. Instead Ellie thought it would be much safer if she just peeked through the store front window. Sure enough, Ellie was right. She would have been trapped in the book store for hours, maybe even days, had she gone in. Ellie marvelled at the books she could see from where she was standing. Many had interesting titles such as, _Magical Drafts and Potions_, _The Witches Guide to House Cleaning_, and _The Dark Forces: A Guide To Self-Protection_. After several minutes of gawking, Ellie pried herself away from the front window, and stepped backwards onto the cobble stone path. As she did this, she bumped into a ginger haired woman carrying a large number of parcels and bags.


	9. Through The Fireplace

Chapter 9: Through The Fireplace

Ellie watched the arm full of parcels scattered to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologized, and stooped down to help gather the woman's purchases. Ellie couldn't believe her clumsiness.

"It's alright dearie, no harm done." The woman said kindly. "But I think it would be much faster if we gathered them this way."

The woman then reached into her front pocket and drew out what was unmistakably a magic wand. With a simple flick, the bags and parcels magically appeared in a small pile in front of the plump woman.

"I truly am sorry." Ellie apologized again, trying to mask her astonishment.

"Don't worry yourself dear. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going either." The woman smiled. "But I do need some help getting these packages back into my arms."

"Oh, of course." Ellie said quickly and picked up several bags to hang on the woman's outstretched arms.

"Why aren't you at school?" The woman suddenly asked, throwing Ellie a suspicious glare.

"Today is Saturday." Ellie curiously replied, handing the woman a square package.

"I know that, but it takes almost a full day to travel from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley, and you look far too young to apperate."

_Hogwarts? Diagon Alley? Apperate? What was this woman going on about?_

The red haired woman continued to stare at Ellie expecting an answer. Much to Ellie's luck, a man with red thinning hair and glasses approached the woman.

"Molly, are you alright?" He asked in concern.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine Arthur." She replied.

Ellie saw this diversion as the perfect time for her to get away. She picked up the final bundle of parcels and handed them to the woman.

"Well I should really get going. I'm already late as it is." Ellie lied, glancing at her wrist watch. "Again, I apologize." And she abruptly turned from the couple and headed back to the brick wall.

Ellie went from a casual walk to a light jog when she heard the woman's voice in the distance, "Come back! You didn't answer my question!"

Finally Ellie arrived at the brick wall entrance, but to her dismay it was still a brick wall.

"What am I going to do?" She desperately thought to herself.

She couldn't wait by the wall because it would arouse too much suspicion. And what if the plump red headed lady came looking for her?

After frantically looking around for a solution, Ellie decided on waiting in the Apothecary. She could pretend to be shopping while keeping an eye on the brick wall from the store front window.

The strong putrid smell of rotting eggs and cabbage overwhelmed Ellie the second she entered the store. If it wasn't for the fascinating contents of the various jars and barrels, she would have left immediately. Shrivelfig, rat spleens, wormwood, graphorn, gillyweed; she read each labelled jar carefully and wondered what purpose these strange ingredients served. Suddenly a pair of voices caught Ellie's attention. They were coming from behind a half open door behind the store cash counter.

"We're running low on Asphodel. I need you to pickup a shipment." A high crisp voice spoke.

"What? Now?" A second voice lazily replied. It was a deeper voice than the first, but it sounded younger.

"Yes, now! It'll only take you thirty seconds." The first voice said sternly.

"Alright." The second person reluctantly agreed.

Ellie moved along the counter until she was in a position where she could see through the partially opened door.

Two men were standing in a room full of creates and boxes. One man had short brown hair, and looked to be in his mid twenties, while the other had light pepper hair and appeared to be in his early fifties. There was one odd thing Ellie noticed about the room the two men were standing in. It had a very tall fireplace with a roaring fire. Store storage rooms don't have fireplaces in them, especially with an actual fire. Wasn't there a fire code to follow?

"Go ask Gus if he has any extra stock we can buy off him." The elder man ordered.

"Alright." The younger man droned.

Then in a matter of seconds, Ellie witnessed something that she had never even read about in the hundreds of fiction books she owned.

The younger man grabbed a handful of some sort of strange glittering powder that was in a jar on top of the mantel, and threw it into the fire. The flames rose high, and turned an emerald green. Next, the man stepped into the fireplace, directly into the flames, and said "Hogsmeade". In a split second the man had vanished, and the fire had returned to its original form.

Ellie stood with her mouth gaping open. The elder man didn't seem to find anything extraordinary about what just occurred. He was much more interested in the news paper he was holding. The shop was very quiet. Just as Ellie was about to turn away, the fire shot back up into the green colour, and the young man appeared with three square crates that were stacked as high as he was tall.

"There are three more boxes to come." The younger man informed the elder, as they both moved the crates out of the fireplace. The man threw another handful of the glittering powder into the fire and stepped into the flames as he had done before.

"Its some type of magic portal!" Ellie thought in revelation.

Suddenly remembering that she should be keeping an eye on the brick wall, Ellie turned towards the store window. The archway still wasn't there, but Ellie saw something very alarming. The plump red haired woman was about to enter the Apothecary. Ellie quickly ducked behind a barrel of leeches.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" The woman asked loudly, as the door shut behind her.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Weasley!" The elder man greeted as he came out of the back storage room. "What can I do for you today?"

"Just running low on a few things." She replied, handing the man a list.

The younger man emerged from the storage room, and began to refill some of the half empty jars on the shelves.

Ellie remained crouched in her hiding spot. The last thing she needed was to be questioned again by the woman, and there was no way for her to get out of the store without being stopped. The elder man stepped out from behind the counter and began helping the woman find the items she needed. They seemed to be making their way closer to the barrel of leeches, and Ellie feared that she would soon be discovered.

Now feeling very panicked, Ellie frantically began to think of a way out, when her eyes abruptly fixed themselves on the half opened door leading to the back room.

"What if I'm not supposed to go back through the brick wall?" Ellie thought. "Maybe the only way out is through the fireplace."

It did make a lot of sense. Ellie hadn't seen the brick wall turn into an archway since she went through it. Somehow everyone seemed to come and go on their own, and the only time she had witnessed someone leaving was through the fireplace.

Seeing that the plump woman and elder man were now only five feet away, Ellie, still in a crouched position, dashed behind the cash counter and made it through the door without being noticed. She slowly stood up and carefully examined the tall fireplace for a moment. It certainly looked like a normal fireplace. Ellie then took a handful of the glittering powder from the jar and threw it into the fire. Immediately the flames turned emerald green and rose as high as Ellie's chest. Ellie stared mesmerized at the flames. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her palms were sweaty.

"Its alright, they wont burn you." She continually told herself over and over.

Finally, Ellie closed her eyes and stepped forward. She then opened her eyes a crack to ensure that she was actually standing in amongst the flames. Sure enough, she was. The green flames didn't burn at all; instead they felt like a warm breeze against Ellie's skin.

"And now for the magic word." Ellie thought to herself.

She opened her mouth and in a clear voice said, "Hogsmeade!"


	10. The Trio

Chapter 10: The Trio

Just as the word had escaped her mouth, Ellie unexpectedly felt the sensation of being sucked down a narrow tube. She quickly shut her eyes before a cloud of hot ash blew into her face. Ellie was now spinning rapidly, and was beginning to feel a bit nauseous. She remained as still as possible, not knowing what to expect. Still spinning, Ellie decided to open her eyes, carefully, to see what was happening to her. Hundreds of blurred fireplaces zoomed by, each with a different room beyond them. Suddenly, Ellie was hit with a new fear. What if she was supposed to stop on her own? How would she know what fireplace would take her home? Just as she was beginning to think that she would be doomed to continuously spin forever, Ellie found herself face flat on a hardwood floor.

She lifted her head slowly, still feeling extremely dizzy. Looking at the many boxes and crates that filled the room, Ellie concluded that she had landed in another storage room. It was very similar to the last room she was in, but this one was much bigger, with a wider fireplace. Ellie got to her feet as soon as she felt that the room had stopped spinning. She was covered in soot, and tried to brush as much off of her as she could. There was only one door in the storage room that could provide any means of escape. Ellie carefully pressed her ear against the door. There were no voices or any sound coming from the other side. Convinced that the coast was clear, she cautiously pushed open the door, and walked through.

It was another Apothecary, or so it seemed. The walls were covered with hundreds of glass jars, but had much more variety than the Apothecary she had just come from. Being a larger store, it also had twice as many barrels and dingy water filled tanks.

A new thought arose in Ellie's mind that caused her to groan out loud. Although she had gotten herself out of one wizard world, she had only landed herself in another. To make things worse, she had absolutely no idea where she was. For all she knew, she could have arrived in Malaysia.

For a person who attends a school for highly intelligent girls, she was sure making a lot of stupid decisions.

"What are you doing back there?!" A voice shouted. A balding man with thick square spectacles, and a curled moustache was briskly walking towards her from the front of the store.

It was then that Ellie realized that she was standing behind the cash counter.

"This is not a place to fool around!" The man scolded as he seized Ellie's arm. "The joke shop and candy store are across the street, why don't you go play there? The last thing I need is more kids mixing up my potion labels. It's not funny, it's dangerous!"

The man practically threw Ellie out of the store, and slammed the door behind her. Ellie had never been treated so rudely in her life, and was speechless in outrage. She glanced up at the store's sign; _Potar and Dram's Potion Supplies_.

"Well, I'll have to remember to never go in there again." Ellie grumbled, but her bad mood was abruptly interrupted by the sound of laughter coming from behind her.

Ellie turned around and saw children. Children around her own age. All of them were crowding around a store called Zonko's Joke Shop. In the front window hung a banner that read "Weasley Wizard Wheezes, TODAY ONLY!"

Ellie wasn't sure what the banner meant, but all the children seemed to be very excited over it.

It then dawned on Ellie that she was in a different town. She was now standing on a wide road instead of a cobble-stone path, and the stores weren't cramped together. The overpowering feeling that she was far away from London hit her like a ton of bricks. The only thing that prevented Ellie from panicking was the continuous laughter from the children; somehow it eased her nerves. Ellie decided it was best to push her worries aside until a solution presented itself, and take a look around. Since the joke shop was way too busy for her to even attempt to go in, Ellie decided to walk further down the street. She remembered the rude shop owner mentioning something about a candy store. A large sign saying "Honeydukes" caught Ellie attention. Glancing through the front window, Ellie could see that the store was busy, but not nearly as crowded as Zonko's.

"Well, there's no point in letting these Galleons, Sickles and Knuts go to waste." Ellie thought as she patted her pocket full of wizard money, and walked into the store.

A glassy stare grew on Ellie's face as her eyes took in the sight of the hundreds of candies, chocolates, and sweets that covered the shelves.

Ellie wasn't sure where to begin. She slowly made her way around the store, only picking out the sweets that most appealed to her (that left the cockroach-clusters and the blood-flavoured lollipops out of the picture).

After a good twenty minutes, Ellie walked out of Honeydukes with a bag full of toffees, chocolates, liquorice wands, jelly slugs, Fizzing Whizzbees, Chocolate Frogs, several different types of Honeyduke's own fudge, and a small box of Bertie-Bott's every flavoured bean. Needless to say that Ellie's pocket full of coins was now considerably lighter.

Once back out on the street, Ellie looked across the way and saw a pub called The Three Broomsticks. Still feeling guilty about the ice-cream sundae for lunch, Ellie thought it would be the perfect time to get some real food.

The Three Broomsticks turned out to be tremendously busy. There didn't seem to be one single empty table in the place. Ellie found herself often staring too long at the odd pub patrons. In a short time she had spotted four goblins keeping to themselves at a table in a dark corner, a group of hags gossiping about something (they were speaking too fast for Ellie to understand), and at the back there sat a gigantic man with wild, bushy hair and a beard to match, talking to a tiny man, who couldn't be more than three feet tall. Ellie had given up on looking for a seat, and was just about to leave when she was startled by a voice that came from over her right shoulder.

"You look a bit lost, do you need any help?" The voice asked kindly.

Ellie turned around and found herself staring into the most brilliant green eyes she had ever seen.

The green eyes belonged to a boy who looked to be about Ellie's age, with untidy jet-black hair, and round, thick-rimmed glasses. The second feature Ellie noticed about the boy, after his eyes, was an odd scar on his forehead that was in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"Uh....no. I'm just looking for an empty table." Ellie said, finally finding her voice.

"Well, there's an extra chair at the table I'm at. Its just me and two of my friends. Would you like to join us?" The boy asked with a polite smile.

"Yes, that'd be great." Ellie replied before she even realized what she had just said.

"Well, the table is just over there.' The boy said, gesturing towards the far right wall. "By the way, I'm Harry Potter."

"I'm Eleanor Richards, but everyone calls me Ellie." Ellie said shaking Harry's outstretched hand.

At that moment Ellie felt a sudden jolt in her stomach, but dismissed it as excitement from meeting a real wizard.

Harry led Ellie to a table where a tall freckled, red-haired boy was arguing with a girl with bushy brown hair. They abruptly stopped bickering when Harry and Ellie approached the table. Ellie was then introduced to Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, as Harry ran to get Butterbeers for everyone, even though Ellie wasn't quite sure what a Butterbeer was. Ellie sat quietly, too nervous to say anything. Seconds later, Harry returned carrying four tankards overflowing with foam. Ellie took a small sip of the Butterbeer, and was surprised at how delicious it was.

"I don't remember ever seeing you around Hogwarts before, what year are in Ellie?" Hermione asked pleasantly, but Ellie could detect a hint of suspicion in her tone.

Ellie took another sip of Butterbeer, giving herself more time to think of an answer without letting on that she didn't belong there.

"Umm..." Ellie began uneasily, "I'm fifteen."

"Ah, a fifth year." Ron hastily said. "You probably know my sister Ginny."

Before Ellie could open her mouth, Hermione wasted no time in asking another question.

"What house are you in?" Her tone of suspicion was much more apparent this time.

_House?_ Ellie could feel her face heating up with panic. There was definitely no way Ellie could fake an answer this time. The longer she hesitated, the more stern Hermione's glare became.

"Well, she obviously isn't in Gryffindor Hermione, or we would have seen her around." Ron blurted out. "You're not in Slytherin are you?" He asked quickly after more hesitation from Ellie.

"Ron, she can answer for herself." Hermione snapped.

"I was just trying to eliminate the possibilities." Ron spat back.

"Well, either she knows or-"

"Guys, give it a rest." Harry said loudly over the bickering. "Its no wonder she isn't answering, she can't even get a word in edge wise."

With the fighting stopped, the focus was back on Ellie.

"You don't go to Hogwarts do you?" Hermione asked conclusively.

Ellie just shook her head, looking down at the table.

"Well, you don't sound like you go to Beauxbaton or Durmstrang because-" Ron stopped talking immediately once he noticed Hermione's harsh glare.

"What school do you go to Ellie?" Harry asked gently.

This was the first question Ellie actually had an answer to.

"Pileforth Academy." She replied.

"Never heard of it!" Ron said quickly, shaking his head.

Hermione, on the other hand, had suddenly turned very pale.

"Have you heard of it Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yes I have. It's a muggle school for highly intelligent girls." Hermione said seriously, not taking her eyes off of Ellie.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked.

"Because that's where my parents were planning to send me before I received my letter from Hogwarts."

Now, both Harry and Ron were staring at Ellie with the same expression as Hermione.

"I don't mean to sound ignorant," Ellie began awkwardly, "but what's a muggle?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Harry gave an answer.

"It's a person who isn't able to do magic."

"Oh." Was all Ellie could reply. She could feel her face becoming more red with all the attention focused on her.

Hermione was the first to break the long period of stunned silence.

"Ellie, how on earth did you get here? It should be utterly impossible for a muggle to enter Hogsmeade."

"Obviously not that impossible if she's here." Ron commented.

Ellie thought back to how her day had begun. It seemed like ages since her mother dropped her off in front of Jo's house.

"Well, it all began when I followed two men wearing cloaks into a pub..."

Harry, Ron and Hermione hung onto Ellie's every word as she told them every detail about going through the brick wall, exchanging her money at Gringotts, the woman she bumped into (who turned out to be Ron's mother) and mistaking the fireplace as a way out. The only detail she intentionally neglected to tell was the reason why she was in London in the first place; searching for clues abut Nicole's death. For some reason Ellie didn't feel like mentioning her dead cousin.

The table went silent again once Ellie had finished, but this silence was more in amazement than in shock.

"I can't believe nobody realized you were a muggle." Ron said astonished. "No wonder you go to a school for highly intelligent girls."

"You still shouldn't been able to see the Leaky Cauldron." Hermione said frowning. "There are too many charms and enchantments preventing muggles from entering the magic world. I'm worried that a weakness in the enchantments could be caused by-" she stopped abruptly.

Harry and Ron seemed to understand what she was about to say, but Ellie didn't have a clue.

"I think it would be best if we took Ellie to see Dumbledore." Hermione said to Harry.

"He'll probably just obliviate her memory." Harry said glumly.

"Harry, she doesn't belong here."

"Obliviate my memory?" Ellie asked uneasily. What ever it was, she didn't like the sound of it.

"Its just a simple charm that erases your memory." Hermione casually replied.

"Then again, we are talking about Dumbledore. Maybe he won't obliviate her memory. He's usually very understanding." Ron commented.

"Who's Dumbledore?" Ellie asked.

"Its _Professor_ Dumbledore," Hermione corrected Ron, "and he's the headmaster at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry."

"Whether Dumbledore modifies Ellie's memory or not, we still have to talk to him." Harry said reluctantly. Hermione beamed at him.

"Right after we take Ellie on a tour of Hogsmeade." Harry added quickly.

"Harry, we can't, we shouldn't."

"What's the harm Hermione, if she's going to get her memory obliviated anyways?" Harry asked slyly.

"What if someone else realizes that she doesn't go to Hogwarts? What if a teacher notices? We could get into a lot of trouble."

"If you ask me, she's already done a good job of blending in. I don't think anyone will suspect a thing." Ron grinned.

Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration.

"What do you think Ellie?" Harry asked.

"I don't want to cause any trouble, but I would like a proper tour instead of assuming what everything is on my own." Ellie replied with a wishful smile.

"Well, that settles it then." Harry said standing up.

"Are you coming?" Ron asked the still seated Hermione.

"Fine!" Hermione exclaimed. "But the only reason I'm coming is to make sure you two don't get yourselves into any trouble."


	11. Owls, Vampires And A Haunted House

Hi everyone! This is your author speaking. I thought this would be the perfect time for me to thank all my readers thus far. Your feed back has been absolutely wonderful, and I'm pleased to see so many people enjoying my story.

So, thank you, and please continue with the comments, its the only way I'll learn.

Chapter 11: Owls, Vampires And A Haunted House

Ellie hadn't noticed how beautiful the village of Hogsmeade really was. The first time she saw it, she was far too worried about someone discovering that she didn't belong there. Now that she had Harry, Ron and Hermione with her she was feeling more at ease and took in the sights leisurely. The first place Harry and Ron took Ellie was the post office. Ellie wasn't quite sure what could possibly be so interesting about a post office, but she had to remind herself that this was no ordinary town.

Harry opened the door and Ellie quickly ducked, just narrowly missing a barn owl flying out the door. Ellie cautiously peered into the post office and saw hundreds of more owls inside. She had no idea that there were so many different types of owls in the world let alone in the United Kingdom (assuming she was still in the U.K.).

"The larger owls are for long distant deliveries and the smaller ones are for local." Harry explained as more owls entered and exited through the windows above.

Out of all the possibilities for a wizard to send mail, owls were the last thing Ellie expected.

"Come on. Let's go to Zonko's and see how Fred and George are doing." Ron said heading back towards the post office doors.

Zonko's was just as crowded, if not more, than when Ellie had first arrived.

"My two brothers are the creators of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. They have their own joke store in Diagon Alley, but they come to Zonko's every Hogsmeade weekend. As you can see, it's a very successful business." Ron explained to Ellie.

"Ron, it will take us hours for us to get into Zonko's if we wait in that line." Harry said glumly, looking at the huge queue in front of the store.

"Besides, we should be on our way to see Professor Dumbledore." Hermione pipped in. She had been following Harry, Ron and Ellie a few steps behind and hadn't said a word since they had left the Three Broomsticks.

"Alright, we'll go see Dumbledore," Harry began, "right after we go to the Shrieking Shack."

"I really think we should go now." Hermione said firmly.

"What's a tour of Hogsmeade without a visit to the Shrieking Shack?" Ron asked.

With a bit more persuasion Hermione finally gave in. Ellie was beginning to get the distinct feeling that Hermione didn't want her around, but she wasn't sure why.

"The Shrieking Shack is believed to be the most haunted dwelling in all of Britain." Ron told Ellie as they climbed the hill that the Shrieking Shack sat on top of. "But it's not really haunted at all. It turned out that-"

"Ron!" Harry said sternly, giving him a very sharp glare.

Ron immediately became quiet, and Ellie was very curious to know what Ron was about to say.

And there it was. At the top of the hill sat a tall decrepit house with a fence surrounding it. All the windows and doors were boarded up and the garden was severely overgrown with weeds. Although a creepy feeling crawled through Ellie's skin as she approached the house, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. The Shrieking Shack looked just like any stereotypical haunted house from any old book or movie. Ellie had been expecting more from the magical world.

"Are we done yet?" Hermione asked impatiently after only looking at the Shrieking Shack for thirty seconds.

Ellie had turned around to tell Hermione that, no, she wasn't done yet, when she spotted two girls walking up the hill. One of the girls had long fiery red hair, and looked very pretty, while the other had straggly dirty-blond hair and a vague expression on her face.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all turned around at the sound of the approaching footsteps.

"Oh, it's just you." Ron said with a tone of relief.

"Why? Who were you expecting?" The red haired girl asked curtly.

"Oh, no one. Just didn't want to run into anyone from Slytherin." Ron replied casually.

"Who is this?" The red haired girl asked, fixing her eyes on Ellie.

"This is Ellie." Harry answered. "Ellie, this is Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, and her friend Luna Lovegood."

"You're a vampire aren't you?" Luna promptly asked, but it sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"I beg your pardon?" Ellie asked, totally caught off guard by such a remark, and judging by everyone else's reaction, she wasn't the only one.

"Luna, does she even look like a vampire to you?" Hermione asked incredulously. "She wouldn't even be able to stand outside in this bright sunshine if she was."

"My father printed an article about the secret lives of vampires, and it revealed that adolescent vampires can withstand the sun's rays, so they can search for a suitable mate."

Ellie glanced at Harry, Ron and Ginny who were all trying their hardest to suppress their laughter. Hermione, on the other hand, was looking completely outraged.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well, it's true!" Luna shouted back.

"I think its time for us to go." Harry said quickly, pushing Hermione down the hill. Ellie and Ron followed right behind.

Harry and Ron were still sniggering to themselves when they had reached the bottom of the hill.

"A _vampire_?" Harry chortled.

"Just when you think loony Luna couldn't get weirder, she does." Ron commented, whipping a tear from his eye.

Instead of following behind, Hermione was now leading the group along the path, through a thicket of trees. After a few minutes the trees began to thin out, and the path led them to a large clearing.

"Well, there it is." Harry said proudly.

Ellie looked up, but all she could see was a decaying ruin with a sign that said, "Caution! Weak Structure. KEEP OUT!"

She was just about to ask Harry if this was some kind of joke, when, in a blink of an eye, a spectacular castle appeared where the ruins had been.

"Whoa!" Ellie exclaimed.

Both Harry and Ron shot Ellie an odd glare.

"That was quite the delayed reaction." Ron commented.

"You didn't see the castle at first did you?" Hermione asked, not sounding remotely surprised at Ellie's reaction.

"No I didn't." Ellie replied very baffled.

"Did it look like a mouldering ruin with a sign telling you to keep away?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Because that's what it's suppose to look like to a muggle." Hermione simply answered.

"But she can see it now." Harry said, sounding just as confused as Ellie.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"I don't know." Hermione said gravely.


	12. The Headmaster

Chapter 12: The Headmaster

Ellie couldn't take her eyes off the vast castle that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The turrets and towers loomed over head as she approached closer. Ellie was then lead through two large oak doors and into a magnificent entrance hall. The cavernous room was lit by dozens of torches hanging along the stone walls, and had a ceiling that was so high it was hardly visible. A wide marble staircase stood opposite from the oak doors. Ellie followed Harry, Ron and Hermione up the marble staircase with her jaw gaping open.

Suddenly Ellie let out a yelp in surprise, as the lady in the portrait she had just passed waved at her.

"What is it?" Harry urgently asked, turning around.

"The p-picture moved." Ellie answered still in shock.

"Oh." Harry smiled, "Yeah, they do that."

"All of them?" Ellie asked in amazement.

"All the ones that I've seen." Harry nodded.

"Do you think you could give me a bit more warning next time something unusual happens?" Ellie asked coolly.

"Sure." Harry grinned. "Oh, just so you know, there are ghosts in the castle as well."

"Ghosts?" Ellie repeated in an uneasy tone, as she followed Harry up a second flight of stairs.

"Don't worry, they're really nice." Harry reassured her. "But you'll have to watch out for Peeves the poltergeist. He's a real nuisance."

"Ghost and poltergeist." Ellie listed to herself. "Is there anything else I should know about?" But just as she asked this question, her foot sank into the step up to her knee.

"Yeah, there are a few trick steps around the castle."

"You're a bit late on that one." Ellie dryly said.

Harry turned around. "Oh, sorry." He apologized and helped Ellie out of the step.

Ron and Hermione were waiting for them at the top of the staircase.

Ellie continued to follow in silence, taking in all the fascinating sights around her. Finally Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped in front of a large stone statue of a gargoyle.

"Anyone happen to know the password?" Ron suddenly asked.

"It's Canary Cream." Replied Harry.

At the sound of those two words the gargoyle jumped aside to reveal a spiral staircase that moved upwards. Once at the very top, Ellie found herself staring at a huge wooden door with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffon. Hermione, being closest to the door, knocked on it firmly. A voice from the other side beckoned "Come in!"

Hermione pushed open the door, but stopped abruptly after only taking one step inside the room.

Peering over Hermione's shoulder, Ellie could see that the room was very large and circular, with various interesting instruments, some even emitting puffs of smoke.

"Sorry Professor Dumbledore, we didn't know you were busy. We can come back later." Hermione said quickly.

"It's perfectly alright Miss. Granger. Please come in." A gentle voice spoke.

Hermione hesitated before fully entering the room. As Ellie walked in her eyes immediately fell on the walls, which were covered with hundreds of moving portraits. Next she noticed a golden bird perch with the most extraordinary bird she had ever seen. It was the size of a peacock, but with brilliant red and gold plumage. Finally Ellie laid eyes on a huge claw footed desk where two men were sitting on either side. The man standing behind the desk was tall and thin with very long, flowing silvery hair and a beard to match. His nose was considerablely crooked, and his twinkling blue eyes fell on Ellie the moment she stepped in the room. The other man, who remained seated in front of the desk, was portly with grey hair, wearing a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, and had a lime green bowler hat resting on his lap.

"What can I do for you all today?" The tall, thin man asked standing up.

Ellie was expecting for Harry, Ron or Hermione to answer, but none of them responded; all of them were looking worriedly at the stout man in the chair.

"They're here because of me." Ellie said stepping forward, not being able to take any more of the long silence.

"And who might you be?" The tall man kindly asked.

"My name is Eleanor Richards, and I'm ... um ... what you'd call a ... a muggle." Ellie had never felt so nervous in her life.

The lime bowler fell to the floor as the short man stared at Ellie with a pale, stunned expression. The tall man, however, didn't look surprised at all.

"Well, Miss. Richards, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts." The tall man said walking around the claw footed desk to shake Ellie's hand. "And this," he said gesturing to the seated man, "is Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic."

Ellie politely extended her hand to shake the minister's but he just continued to gawk wide eyed at her.

"A m-muggle? H-here?" Fudge stammered, finally finding his voice.

"Come now Cornelius, you knew it would only be a matter of time before this would happen again."

"Again? What do you mean 'again'?" Harry asked dumbfounded.

"This isn't the first time a muggle has been able to find their way into the magical world Mr. Potter." Dumbledore smiled.

"But I've never read anything about muggles getting past anti-muggle charms before." Said Hermione.

"That's because the Ministry does a very good job of covering them up." Dumbledore replied, glancing at Fudge.

"There haven't been many security breeches, but some have occurred." Fudge said bitterly, not taking his eyes off Ellie.

"Exactly how did you get here?" Dumbledore asked Ellie, his sparkling blue eyes looking down at her.

For the second time that afternoon Ellie told her story of following the two men into the pub, and again didn't mention anything about her cousin.

"We'll definitely have to step up security around the Leaky Cauldron." Fudge mumbled to himself. "And I wasn't aware of the floo network being connected from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade."

"When was the last time the anti-muggle charms failed?" Harry curiously asked.

"About seventeen years ago, the last time Voldemort was at full power." Dumbledore answered. Ellie noticed the minister give a strange shudder.

"You see, the anti-muggle charms that are placed on every magical dwelling or building are based on the desire and focus of all witches and wizards not wanting to be discovered. When there is an evil threat, like Voldemort for example, the priority of muggle security changes. Suddenly people are much more worried about protecting themselves from an powerful wizard than a harmless muggle. When wizards and witches don't fully concentrate on the anti-muggle charms the spells become weaker. They still repel muggles, but there is a greater chance of one or two slipping by. Most times the muggles that do get by are very intelligent people who are very observant with their surroundings, and have an open mind to the extraordinary." Dumbledore winked at Ellie.

"So what happens to me now?" Ellie timidly asked.

"Your memory and all knowledge of anything magic will be erased of course," Fudge said hastily, "as well as the memory of anyone who has knowledge of you being here."

"You're going to obliviate our memories too?" Hermione gasped.

"It's standard procedure." Fudge authoritatively answered.

"No body's memory will be obliviated." Dumbledore said in a calm tone.

"Dumbledore, this matter concerns the ministry of magic, and as minister what I say goes." Fudge said rising from his seat.

"That may be true Cornelius, but she is in my school, and as Headmaster I have the authority to decide what goes on within these walls." Dumbledore firmly said.

"She doesn't belong here!" Fudge exclaimed.

Dumbledore tuned away from Fudge and faced Ellie.

"Miss. Richards, I am inviting you to stay at Hogwarts Castle for as long as you possibly can."

Ellie's body went numb and her bag of Honeydukes candies fell to the floor. It was as if someone had just informed her that she'd won the lottery, or was invited to have tea with the Queen. Fudge was looking purely scandalized.

"This is madness!" He hissed. "A muggle has no place in Hogwarts. You'll be kicked out of here so fast-"

"Cornelius, do I have to remind you what happened last time you disagreed with me?" Dumbledore sternly said. "I see this as a learning experience; a chance for the students to work on their muggle relations." He added.

"You've been hanging around that Arthur Weasley too much." Fudge spat.

Ron clenched his fists.

"If you ask me, you should hang around him more often." Dumbledore remarked.

Fudge had opened his mouth to say something, but promptly closed it. Finally he opened it again.

"This muggle probably has a family who will be very worried about her whereabouts, so she couldn't possibly stay." Fudge cleverly smirked.

"My mum isn't going to pick me up until Monday evening." Ellie quickly said.

Fudge's grin vanished.

"But I am supposed to be at my friend's house in a hour." She said lowly. "But I did tell her that I'd call if any plans changed." Ellie wasn't ready to give up a chance to stay in an enchanted castle.

"It's a shame you won't be able to call your friend, since the fellytone, or whatever you muggles call it, doesn't exist in the magic world." Fudge said in a sarcastic devastation.

"You don't have telephones?" Ellie asked, sounding very disappointed.

"That's what the owls and fireplaces are for." Ron said apologetically.

"It would take too long for an owl to reach her friend, and it is illegal to have the Floo Network connected to a muggle home." Fudge said before anyone could come up with any suggestions for Ellie to stay.

Ellie's hopes and wishes to stay at Hogwarts were quickly being dashed away.

"Ellie, would you like to stay at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"Yes, I'd love to." Ellie replied without hesitation.

"Alright then." Dumbledore smiled, and with a wave of his wand an old fashion rotary phone appeared on the desk top. The phone had a long wire running out the back of it, along the floor, out the window, and out of sight through the thicket of trees.

"I always keep one around just incase." Dumbledore winked. "But I ask you to please use it quickly; I don't want an unaware person to trip over the phone line."

Ellie picked up the receiver, and could hear the dial tone on the other end. Cornelius Fudge was looking completely outraged. Ellie tried her best to ignore him, and dialed Jo's phone number.

"Hello." Jo's voice came from the ear piece.

"Hi Jo, it's me." Ellie said excitedly.

"Are you alright? Did you find any information about Nicole's death?" Jo quickly asked.

"No...not yet." Ellie said awkwardly. "I'm just calling to let you know that there's been a change of plan."

"What's changing?" Jo asked suspiciously.

"I won't be staying at your house for the weekend."

"What do you mean? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. I just found somewhere else to stay."

"Where?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"Why not?" Jo asked skeptically.

"I really can't talk that long. I'll explain everything when I get back." Ellie said hastily.

"But-"

"If my parents phone to check up on me just tell them that I'm fine, but I'm not able to come to the phone. Tell them I'm in the bathroom or something." Ellie could see Fudge giving her a disapproving glare out of the corner of her eye.

"You know how I feel about lying." Jo said uneasily.

"Look, I really have to go now. I'll be at your house on Monday in time for my mum to pick me up; I'll tell you everything then. Bye." Ellie hung up the phone without waiting for a reply from Jo.

"I can stay till Monday, but I need to be back at my friend's house by four o'clock in the afternoon. Ellie informed everyone.

"Splendid!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"Dumbledore, you're violating at least twenty-four laws by harboring this muggle." Fudge warned.

"Since you've already made friends with Harry, Hermione and Ron, I'll assume that you'll want to stay in Gryffindor tower." Dumbledore said, ignoring Fudge completely. "I'm sure we can fit in an extra bed in the girl's dormitory."

"I'll have your job for this Albus!" Fudge threatened.

"If there is anyone who should be worrying about their job Cornelius, it's you." Dumbledore said firmly.

Fudge scowled at Dumbledore, but didn't say anything in retaliation.

"Could you three please show Miss. Richards to the Gryffindor dormitories so she can put her purchases from Honeydukes away before giving her a full tour of the castle?" Dumbledore asked Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Sure." Harry replied, but Ellie could sense that he'd rather stick around and see what Fudge was going to do next.

Ellie picked up her bag of candies and followed her three escorts, who were slowly exiting through the door. Before Ellie stepped out of the office she abruptly stopped.

"I should probably return this." She said removing the dark brown cloak she had taken from the Leaky Cauldron.

"I'll make sure it gets back to its rightful owner." Dumbledore smiled taking the cloak from Ellie.


	13. The School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry

Chapter 13: The School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry

"Fudge didn't seem too happy." Ron commented once the stone gargoyle re-concealed the moving staircase.

"Well, Dumbledore is breaking several laws." Hermione said.

"You're not actually taking Fudge's side are you?" Harry incredulously asked Hermione.

"Well ... umm ..." She hesitated.

"Hermione, he was going to obliviate our memories!" Ron stressed.

"I know, but ... she still doesn't belong here." Hermione said apprehensively.

The corridor became silent except for the echoing sounds of their footsteps. Ellie remained quiet. She was overjoyed to be staying at Hogwarts for the weekend, but she wasn't too thrilled about sharing a room with someone who didn't even want her around.

"Why do you suppose Fudge needed help from Dumbledore this time?" Hermione asked, trying to restart the conversation, but Harry and Ron continued to give her the silent treatment. Finally, after climbing five flights of stairs, they stopped in front of a large portrait of a fat lady in a frilly pink dress.

"Password?" The fat lady asked.

"Fidus Achates." Harry answered, and the portrait swung forward.

There was a large round hole in the wall behind the portrait, which lead to a comfortable looking round room with a few wooden tables and several squashy armchairs. There was a small dull fire in the stone fireplace that looked like it would go out at any moment. Ellie had expected to see more students in the common room, but it was empty. Harry and Ron plopped themselves on to the very warn out couch that sat in front of the fireplace, and stared into the dying embers.

"Come on Ellie, I'll show you to the dormitory." Hermione said bitterly, staring at the back of the heads of Ron and Harry.

Ellie followed Hermione up a long spiraled staircase that lead to a moderate sized circular room. There were three four-poster beds with deep scarlet satin curtains hanging from them, and one trundle bed with a black robe resting on it.

"That would be your bed." Hermione said pointing to at the trundle bed.

Suddenly something brushed up against Ellie's leg. She looked down and saw an orange cat with a bottle brush tail, looking up at her with interest.

"That's my cat Crookshanks." Hermione told Ellie.

"He's very beautiful." Ellie commented.

Hermione sat down on the bed that was closest to the trundle bed, and Crookshanks immediately leaped into her lap. Ellie made her way over to her own bed, placed her bag of candies next to it, and picked up the black robe with curiosity. The robe was very plain except for a crest on the left breast that had a raven, a lion, a badger, and a snake on it.

"Is this for me?" Ellie asked.

"I guess." Hermione said indifferently, only taking a quick glance at the robe in Ellie's hand. "It's similar to our uniform robes, but we have a Gryffindor crest on ours. Dumbledore probably just wants you to blend in."

Hermione began to scratch Crookshanks behind the ear.

"Have I done something to offend you?" Ellie blurted out.

"No." Hermione simply replied.

"Have I said anything?"

Hermione just shook her head.

"Then why are you so disappointed that I'll be staying at Hogwarts for a couple of days?" Ellie asked impatiently. If she was going to be sharing a room with Hermione, Ellie at least wanted to know the reason why she disliked her so much.

Hermione finally looked at Ellie and let out a sigh.

"It's not you." She said earnestly.

Ellie remained silent, waiting for Hermione to elaborate more on her answer.

"Hogwarts isn't safe for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Ellie asked, not sure where Hermione was going with this.

"There are people in this school who think that muggles are worthless and inferior, and I'm worried that they might do horrible things to you."

"What? You mean like bullying?" Ellie asked.

"You don't understand." Hermione said more seriously. She let out another deep sigh.

"Hogwarts is divided up into four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house values different characteristics in students. Slytherin house is full of students who come from long lines of wizards and witches, and call themselves 'purebloods'. There is one Slytherin by the name of Draco Malfoy who has picked on me non-stop because both my parents are muggles. And even though I can do magic, and get higher marks than all the Slytherins put together, they still see me as a filthy muggle." Hermione paused and stroked Crookshanks a few times. "I don't mind the bullying, because I know I can defend myself. You, on the other hand, have no magic abilities and would be totally defenseless. That's why I didn't want you to stick around." She finished.

Ellie took a moment to think about what Hermione had just said.

"Then you just have to not tell anyone that I'm a muggle." Ellie replied.

Hermione shook her head.

"That won't work. Rumors spread fast in Hogwarts. Once people start noticing a new face in the school, which they will, it won't take long for the truth to come out."

"It sounds a lot like Pileforth." Ellie commented.

There was another silent pause.

"Well, if anyone asks just tell them that I'm an adolescent vampire looking for a mate, and that Luna girl will even back you up." Ellie smirked.

This suggestion caused Hermione to burst out into laughter, and for the first time Ellie was happy to be sharing a room with her.

Ellie spent the next half hour answering Hermione's questions about the school she never went to; Pileforth Academy.

"You two look friendlier." Harry commented, seeing the two girls smiling as they came down the stairs.

"We were going to check to see if you had murdered each other, but we're not _trustworthy_ enough to go up the stairs." Ron said with a bitter tone.

"I'm sorry how I acted earlier." Hermione apologized to Harry and Ron. "I was too worried about Ellie's safety when Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins discover she's a muggle."

"I didn't even think of that!" Ron exclaimed slapping his forehead.

"Neither did I." Harry groaned. "Ellie, I think it would be in your best interest if you stay with at least on of us at all times, just incase."

"Sure. I don't want to be the cause of any trouble."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Trouble seems to follow us everywhere, like this one time-"

"By the way," Harry interrupted Ron, giving him another stern glare, "apparently there is going to be a feast tonight instead of a regular dinner. McGonagall posted a note on the notice board while you two were upstairs."

"Yeah, it mentioned something about it being for an unexpected guest." Ron added.

"Why doesn't he just put a big neon sign outside telling everyone that there is a muggle staying here?" Hermione furiously said after reading the memo.

"Hermione, I don't think Dumbledore means any harm, besides everyone is going to find out eventually." Ron said.

"Yeah, but the later they find out, the less time the Slytherins will have to attack Ellie." Hermione said heatedly.

"We'll worry about that problem when it comes." Harry said. "Right now we only have two hours before the feast, which doesn't give us much time to show Ellie the castle."

"Why don't we start with the upper floors and work our way down?" Hermione suggested.

Everyone agreed, and soon they were heading out the portrait door.


	14. The Feast

Chapter 14: The Feast

There was still no sign of life in the corridors as Ellie followed Harry, Ron and Hermione through the labyrinth of hallways and staircases. Harry then began to tell Ellie about the four Hogwarts houses, the sorting ceremony which determines what house you'll be placed in, and how the point system for the house cup works, all in great detail. Hermione would often interrupt Harry, and add even more information which she learned from a book that, according to Ron, she had read over five hundred times called _Hogwarts: A History_.

Ellie had been given a full tour of the astronomy tower, library, trophy room, armor gallery, transfiguration classroom, charms classroom, and heard about a crazy divination teacher by the name of Sybil Trelawney before Hermione glanced down at her watch and saw that it was time for all of them to head back to Gryffindor tower, so they could get dressed for the feast.

So far Ellie was very impressed with the castle and couldn't wait to see the rest of it after dinner.

Ellie climbed through the portrait door, and saw that on the other side were dozens of students talking excitedly. Every single one of them immediately stopped their conversations and fixed their eyes on Ellie the moment she walked in the room. It was the first time Ellie had seen any other students in the common room, and she knew that they were just as curious about her as she was of them. She continued to follow Hermione quietly up to the girl's dormitory, feeling very uncomfortable with so much attention on her.

When Ellie came back down stairs the resumed conversations abruptly stopped again, and all focus was back on her. She knew they had all been talking about her, most likely speculating about who she was, where she came from, and why she was there.

Before the portrait door shut behind her, Ellie could hear the murmurs and chatter start back up again.

It seemed like a long walk to the great hall. Now all the students in the corridors were gawking at Ellie as she passed by. The constant glares and curious expressions on the students' faces were really starting to annoy Ellie, but the moment she entered the great hall she forgot all about them.

It was a massive hall with five long wooden tables, one on top of a platform at the front of the hall, and the rest ran parallel to each other, but the tables weren't the first thing Ellie noticed. Her eyes naturally floated upwards to the ceiling which wasn't there at all. Instead of a high arch ceiling, which Ellie had expected to see, there was the early evening sky fading into night hovering above. For such a spectacular castle as Hogwarts, Ellie found it odd that the great hall wouldn't even have a roof.

"It's just an illusion." Hermione informed Ellie, pushing her forward out of the door way so other students could get by. Ellie was then lead to the furthest table from the door where the only person she recognized was Ron's sister, Ginny. Ellie took a seat between Hermione and Harry, and tried to ignore the constant stares from the other students as best as she could.

"Who is your friend Harry?" The boy sitting next to Ginny asked.

"She's just a friend who is staying for a couple of days Neville." Harry replied after a bit of hesitation.

Neville didn't look very satisfied with Harry's response, but before he could ask another question the entire hall became silent. Ellie followed Harry's gaze towards the head table where Albus Dumbledore was standing up, waiting for everyone's full attention.

"I'm sure all of you are curious to know why I've arranged this impromptu feast." Dumbledore began, glancing at each table. "It is because we have a special guest eating with us tonight."

Ellie suddenly felt her cheeks go red at the mention of the special guest, and even some of the students glanced her way.

"I am pleased to announce that our special guest is none other than the minister of magic himself, Cornelius Fudge." Dumbledore gestured to the chair on his right.

Fudge remained seated but gave a slight wave to acknowledge the small bit of applause he received.

"Tuck in!" Dumbledore announced.

When Ellie turned back to her plate she saw that the table was now covered with mounds of delicious looking food. There was a juicy roast beef with dark gravy, succulent pork and lamb chops, golden BBQ chicken, buttered peas and carrots, five different varieties of potatoes, delicious yorkshire pudding, and crisp corn on the cob. Ellie stared in wonder at the food piled in front of her.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Harry asked plopping a large spoon full of mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"Do you always have this much food at dinner?" Ellie asked with her eyebrows raised.

"At the feasts, yes, but our usual dinners are about a quarter of what you see here." Hermione answered.

"With all this food its amazing that everyone isn't the size of Dudley Dursley." Ellie quietly commented to herself, but it was just loud enough for the others too hear.

All at once Hermione gave Ellie an astonished look, Ron almost choked on his pork chop, and Harry spat out his entire mouthful of pumpkin juice, which sprayed all over Ginny, who was sitting across from him.

"Sorry Ginny." Harry apologized. "How do you know Dudley?" He quickly asked Ellie.

"He's a friend of my brother." Ellie replied.

"Who's your brother?"

"Dennis Richards."

"Is he the tall one who's a year older than the rest of them?"

"Yeah..." Ellie replied slowly, wondering how Harry knew all this. "How do you know my brother and Dudley?" She asked skeptically.

"Dudley is my cousin." Harry answered.

"Are you serious?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"Afraid so." Harry said glumly. "I've lived with the Dursleys almost my entire life."

"You lived with them too?!" Ellie exclaimed.

"I still do during the summer holidays."

Ellie took a moment to really process what Harry was saying.

"Wait a minute; I've never heard Dudley or my brother mention anything about Dudley having a cousin who lives with him."

"Well, my aunt and uncle don't like the news of their family 'abnormality' spreading too far. Dudley probably threatened all his friends to keep their mouths shut."

"But, you don't even look remotely related, even as far as cousins go." Ellie commented, and it was true.

Physically Harry and Dudley were complete opposites. Dudley was fat, dumb, ugly and had blond hair, while Harry on the other hand, had black hair, was thin, polite and good looking.

"Well, it's true. My mother and his mother are sisters. Besides, why would I lie about being related to the Dursleys?" Harry retorted.

"Good point." Ellie agreed. "It must be horrible to share a living space with Dudley."

"It was at first, but the last few years haven't been too bad. He's terrified that I might hex him in his sleep, although I must admit the thought has crossed my mind several hundred times." Harry smirked.

"Why didn't you?" Ellie asked with a bit of disappointment.

"Because we're under aged wizards, and we're not allowed to do magic outside of the magic world." Ron replied.

"Or else we could get expelled from Hogwarts." Harry bitterly said. "Believe me, the summers would be a lot more tolerable if I could."

"Well, it could always be worse." Ellie commented, popping a baby carrot into her mouth.

"Oh really?" Harry indignantly said.

"Yeah ... at least Dudley doesn't have a crush on you."

Harry's jaw dropped.

"You poor thing!" Ron exclaimed in a pitiful tone that was a bit over dramatic.

"I always figured that Dudley was too dense to even notice girls." Harry commented.

"Unfortunately not." Ellie groaned. "But if there is one nice thing I could say about Dudley is that he's very persistent. Actually, it's the _only_ nice thing I can say about him."

"Is he really that bad?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I'll put it this way, every time he sees me he wraps his arm around me so tight I can barely breath, and starts rambling on about how I could be the luckiest girl in the world if I would only go out with him ... and he's been doing this for the past two years."

"You're right; you do have it worse than me." Harry frankly stated.

"You know there might be a way to get Dudley off your back." Ron said with a sly grin.

"What?" Ellie asked desperately.

"Just tell him you're friends with Harry."

Ellie stared at Ron with a blank expression.

"It's actually not a bad idea. Dudley hates me..." Harry commented. "But a better idea would be to embarrass him."

"Embarrass him? How?" Ellie asked with curiosity.

Harry began to tell Ellie every single embarrassing moment in Dudley's life including the time he sprouted a pig tail, the snake attacking him at the zoo, his four foot tongue, and the dozens of childish pet names his mother calls him.

Ellie had never laughed so hard in her life, and even had to wipe away the tears trickling from the corner of her eyes. Suddenly Ellie realized that Ginny was looking at her with a stunned expression.

"You're a muggle?" Ginny whispered in astonishment. She had obviously been listening carefully to the conversation.

"Ginny, you can't mention this to anyone." Hermione said firmly.

"I know that! Why do you think I was whispering?" Ginny retorted.

No one else at the table had overheard Ginny's discovery except for the boy sitting next to her, Neville, who was now staring at Ellie with very wide eyes.

"But how did she get here?" Ginny asked.

"It's a bit of a long story." Ellie replied.

"She'll tell you later." Hermione said, glancing nervously around the table.

Everyone else was too busy eating and gossiping about who Ellie really was to overhear any of the conversation between Ellie, Harry, Ron and Ginny.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Ron asked after several minutes of awkward silence.

"I guess we could show Ellie whatever parts of the castle we don't get to tonight. Its too dark to see the green houses and the lake, so we can save that for tomorrow." Harry began.

"Don't we have practice tomorrow morning?" Ginny asked Harry and Ron.

"I completely forgot." Ron groaned.

"No, it's perfect! Ellie can come watch our quiddich practice." Harry said happily.

"Quiddich?" Ellie asked curiously.

"It's our sport." Ron replied, but Ellie wasn't wondering what quiddich was as much as she was wondering why that word sounded so familiar.

"I've heard that word before, but I can't remember where." Ellie said furrowing her brow.

"You must be mistaken." Hermione said in a dismissive tone.

"No, I'm positive I've heard it before." Ellie began, but then it suddenly dawned on her.

"Uncle Simon!" She exclaimed.

"Uncle who?" Ron asked.

"Three years ago my uncle went to his best friend's camp site to help with an overflow of pre-bookings. The next morning my uncle was found wandering two streets away from his house with his brain completely fried, and mumbling nonsense about quaffles, bludgers and quiddich."

Ellie noticed the strange way Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were staring intently at their dinner plates.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" She suspiciously asked all of them.

After a bit of reluctance Harry finally answered her.

"It was the quiddich world cup, and memory charms were placed on all the muggles who were working at the camp site so they couldn't reveal that there was a large population of wizards staying there."

"The memory charms don't usually have that effect on muggles, but there were a lot of people who weren't being very discreet about being wizards, and too many memory charms in one day aren't very good for the mind." Hermione added.

"Well, that certainly explains a lot." Ellie stated. She always wondered what happened that night Uncle Simon went to Mr. Roberts's camp site, but hundreds of wizards watching a sport was the last thing she ever expected.

Suddenly, a terrible vision flashed through Ellie's mind. She was walking aimlessly down Wisteria Walk without a clue who she was, or where she lived, and with no memory of Hogwarts or the magic world. A slight shudder ran throughout her body, but she quickly shook it off, and grabbed a slice of cherry pie from the pile of desserts that had just appeared before her.

Glancing around the room Ellie saw that many of the students were still inquisitively glancing at her.

With her eyes still wandering around the room, Ellie finally turned her attention to the only table where no one had even given her one single glance; the head table. All of the teachers were minding their own business, not taking any note of Ellie's presence what so ever. Hermione must have noticed what Ellie was staring at, because she began to tell Ellie each of the teachers' names and what subjects they taught. Ellie recognized Prof. Flitwick, the charms teacher, and Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, as two of the people she immediately noticed when she first walked into the Three Broomsticks.

As Hermione was still listing off each teacher at the table, Ellie couldn't help but scan further down the head table until her eyes met those of a teacher who was actually looking right at her. In fact he was the only teacher paying any attention to Ellie at all. He had a contemptuous expression on his face, with a sickly complexion, a hooked nose, and long greasy black hair.

It wasn't long before Ellie learned that it was the potions master, Prof. Snape, who was looking at her with such dislike.

"The table next to us is the Hufflepuff table." Hermione continued, motioning to the long wooden table next to them. "The one next to that is for Ravenclaw house, and the Slytherin table is at the opposite end of the great hall."

At the other side of the room, Ellie noticed at pale blond haired boy whispering to the two large blokes sitting next to him, occasionally shooting cruel, disdainful expressions in Ellie's direction.

"That's Draco Malfoy." Hermione informed her, following Ellie's gaze.

Just before Ellie returned to her slice of pie, she caught sight of a pair of familiar pale protuberant eyes staring at her form the Ravenclaw table.

Ellie quickly diverted her eyes away from Luna Lovegood, and bit her lip. It wasn't the suspicious glare that Luna was throwing at Ellie that made her turn away. It was the pink shoe string with a large clove of garlic tied to the end, hanging around Luna's neck that Ellie couldn't look at any longer without bursting into hysterical laughter.


	15. Conversation With A Ghost

Chapter 15: Conversation With A Ghost

Once the feast was over, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ellie remained seated at the table for a few moments while the entire school filtered out of the great hall. Many students who passed by had asked Harry who the new girl was, but Harry continuously told each person to mind their own business, and didn't say another word on the matter.

With the great hall now empty, Harry, Ron and Hermione resumed giving Ellie the tour of the castle they started before the feast began.

The corridors on the first floor were virtually empty. The only sign of life was the caretaker Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, who seemed to be maintaining a post outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room. Although they didn't go down to the dungeons (something about safety precautions), Ellie was told all about the potions classrooms, the kitchens, and both Slytherin and Hufflepuff dormitories.

Hermione then began to rant about something called house-elves. From what Ellie could understand from Hermione's ramblings, house-elves are tiny creatures that clean the entire castle, cook all the meals, and are treated like slaves. Whatever these house-elf things were, Hermione seemed to be very passionate about them.

When they reached the hospital wing Ron managed to briefly pull Ellie aside and told her that it was in a house-elf's nature to want to clean and cook, and that they aren't slaves at all.

Finally after seeing all seven floors, and at least 137 of the 142 staircases, Ellie was very impressed that Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't constantly late for class every single day. It was one thing to learn how to find your way around a enormous castle, but it was quite another when the rooms and staircases change without warning.

The last stop on the tour was the Owlery where Ellie was introduced to Harry's beautiful snowy owl, Hedwig, and Ron's tiny, hyperactive owl, Pigwidgeon (Pig for short).

After climbing down the Owlery staircase, Ellie found herself staring at a very strange sight.

A man was walking- no, gliding half way down the corridor. He was smoky-white and was wearing a tunic with a ruff, tights, and a grand plumed hat. It was a ghost. Even thought Harry had told Ellie that there were ghosts around the castle, she still wasn't prepared to actually see one face to face.

"Sir Nicholas!" Harry shouted in greeting from behind Ellie.

"Oh, hello." The ghost replied with very little enthusiasm.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked.

"Oh, its nothing." The ghost sighed. "How was the feast?" He asked in a melancholy tone.

"It was great." Ron replied.

"Why weren't you there Sir Nicholas?" Hermione asked, seeing the sad expression on the ghost's face.

"Dumbledore requested that all the ghosts not attend. He mentioned something abut not wanting to upset a guest, but Fudge has seen us many times, he did go to this school you know." Sir Nicholas said bitterly.

"Fudge wasn't the guest that Dumbledore was concerned about." Harry said, glancing sideways at Ellie.

"Oh?" Sir Nick said with a mild interest.

"I'm the person he was worried about." Ellie said awkwardly.

"I don't quite understand." Sir Nicholas said, quizzically looking at Ellie.

"I'm a muggle and I've never seen a ghost before." Ellie explained.

Sir Nicholas's eyes went wide with realization.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" He said very dramatically. "I'm Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington."

Ellie's jaw dropped as Sir Nicholas tilted his head, as if lifting his hat, revealing that his head was only attached by a half inch of skin.

But before Ellie could return a proper greeting, an ear shattering crash echoed throughout the quiet hallway. A full suit of armor had fallen to the ground, as if someone had pushed it, just barely missing Ellie by a few centimeters.

"Peeves!" Sir Nicholas shouted angrily.

The sound of insane cackling suddenly filled the air.

"Show yourself!" Sir Nick demanded.

A little man with a bell-covered hat, orange bow tie, and a wide malicious smile suddenly appeared floating cross-legged in mid air.

"You could have seriously hurt someone." Sir Nicholas scolded, but Peeves didn't really seem to care what Sir Nick had to say. He just blew a big raspberry and zoomed off down the hall, out of sight.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked Ellie.

Ellie just nodded, even thought her heart was still beating rapidly from being startled so badly.

"It's getting late. We should head back to the common room." Hermione said after glancing down at her watch.

They all said their good byes to Sir Nicholas, and continued on their way.


	16. Gryffindor Tower

Chapter 16: Gryffindor Tower

Ron was the first to enter the portrait door, but he abruptly stopped and quickly backed out, causing Ellie to bump into Harry.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Every single Gryffindor is in there waiting for us." Ron said in a panicked tone.

"I don't think we'll be able to keep Ellie a secret much longer." Hermione said doubtfully.

"But what about her safety?" Harry asked.

"It'll be easier if we tell everyone the truth now, instead of everyone constantly questioning us till Monday when she leaves." Hermione replied.

"Hey, and if everyone knows, there will be more people to protect Ellie from any attacks from Slytherin." Ron added.

"What do you think Ellie?" Harry asked her, before making a decision.

Ellie briefly paused in thought.

"I don't want to spend the next couple of days pretending to be something I'm not. I think its best if we tell everyone the truth now."

"Alright." Harry said, and he led the way through the portrait door.

Once again Ellie found herself disclosing every detail of how she got into the magic world and found her way to Hogwarts. The audience in the common room was much bigger than any of the others she had told the story to before, which made her feel three times as nervous.

When the story was over most of the students returned to their homework, while others approached Ellie and began to ask her odd questions like 'what subjects do they teach in muggle schools?' and 'what is the purpose of a television?'.

Once Ellie had finished answering all the questions, which took about forty-five minutes, she found Harry, Ron and Hermione all sitting at a table in the far corner doing their homework. Since they had heard Ellie's story twice already, they were able to get an early start.

Hermione was busy reading a thick text book, Harry was idly writing with a quill on a long sheet of parchment, and Ron was staring off into space.

Ellie quietly sat down in the empty chair next to Hermione, not wanting to disturb anyone.

A few minutes later Hermione pulled her eyes away from the page she was reading and glanced at Ron.

"Shouldn't you be doing your Charms homework?" She snapped, returning to her book.

Ron let out an irritated groan and pulled his wand out of his front pocket, along with a small wooden box.

"What's that for?" Ellie asked, inquiring about the box.

"I need more work on my locking charm, and we were practicing on boxes and jars in class." Ron answered, placing the box in the center of the table.

With a slight waving motion, Ron pointed the tip of his wand at the lid of the box and said "Sigillum!"

He then picked up the box and tried to pry the lid off. With one sharp yank the lid came right off. Looking very defeated, Ron placed the lid back on the box, and prepared to give another attempt at the charm.

"You need to concentrate harder." Hermione commented, without taking her eyes off the page she was reading.

Ron shot her an irate glare, and tried the charm again.

"Sigillum!"

This time the charm worked. Ron tried to pull the lid off the box with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. He even got Ellie to remove the lid, but she couldn't do it either.

"Good Ron, now you just have to successfully perform the charm five more times, and you've mastered it." Hermione said smugly.

"How do you unlock the box?" Ellie asked Ron, who looked like he was getting ready to hex Hermione.

"That's easy." Ron replied, his temper ebbing. "Alohomora!" He exclaimed with another wave of his wand, and Ellie was now able to remove the box lid with ease.

"Wow! What else can you do?" Ellie asked with interest. She was completely captivated by these feats of magic, even if they were simple.

"Oh, we can do all kinds of things." Ron boasted. "Accio!"

Hermione's text book went flying out of her hand and into Ron's.

"Cool!" Ellie exclaimed in awe.

"Ron, don't you think you've done enough showing off for one night?" Hermione testily asked, snatching her book back from Ron.

Ron, as usual, was completely ignoring Hermione

"Do you want to try?" Ron asked Ellie, pointing the wand handle towards her.

"Really?" Ellie smiled.

Harry stopped writing and looked up from his roll of parchment.

"Ron, she's a muggle! Nothing is going to happen if she uses a magic wand." Hermione stated.

"I know that!" Ron indignantly said. "But I've never seen a muggle use a wand before, and besides when will Ellie ever get another once in a life time opportunity like this?"

"Fine, do what ever you want!" Hermione said coldly, returning to her book.

Ron handed his wand to Ellie and she timidly took it.

Ellie held the wand expecting to feel a surge of magic pulse through her, but it just felt like she was holding a plain, ordinary wooden stick.

"Try the charm I was just working on." Ron suggested.

Ellie mimicked the wand movement Ron had performed and said "Sigillum!"

Nothing happened. Ron was able to remove the box lid with ease.

"Try something easier." Harry recommended. "How about Wingardium Leviosa?"

Once Ellie learned how to do the spell properly she gave it a try. Again, nothing happened.

"I told you it wouldn't work." Hermione said from behind her book in her usual know-it-all tone.

"Well it never hurts to try." Ron snapped.

Ellie returned the wand to Ron, and he continued to work on his charms homework.

The strong feeling of disappointment sat in the pit of Ellie's stomach. Even though she knew the spell wasn't going to work, because if it did she wouldn't be a muggle, deep down inside, a part of her really wanted to perform a real magic charm.

"So, what makes a magic wand so magical anyways?" Ellie asked out of curiosity.

"I'm not really sure exactly what the procedure is to make a magic wand, but each one is made with a different combination of wood, length and core." Ron replied, examining his wand.

"For example, my wand is an 11 inch, holly, with a phoenix feather core." Harry said.

"And mine is 14 inches, willow, with a unicorn hair." said Ron.

"U-unicorn? You mean a r-real unicorn?" Ellie stammered with excitement.

"Yeah." Ron nodded.

"You mean to tell me that unicorns really exist?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"Yep." Harry smiled. "There are a few living in the forbidden forest."

Ellie glanced out the window, almost expecting to see a unicorn standing on the forest edge, but all she could see was darkness.

"I'm guessing you like unicorns?" Harry asked.

"I have a large collection of glass and ceramic figurines, but I never imagined that they actually existed." Ellie replied. She was starting to feel a bit foolish for glancing out the window.

Soon, Harry and Ron lost all interest in their homework, and started a game of wizard chess. Ellie watched quietly, mesmerized by the moving pieces, and wished that her chess board at home could move on its own.

It was after the fifth game of exploding snap when it began to be a struggle for Ellie to keep her eyes open. She felt very thankful when Hermione announced that she was going to bed ten minutes later. As much as Ellie wanted to play exploding snap and learn more about the magic world the entire night, her body wasn't going to let her.

She followed Hermione up the staircase to the girl's dormitory, and fell asleep instantly once her head touched the pillow.

It wasn't long before Ellie found herself awake again, tossing and turning. She was never able to sleep soundly in a strange place, and Hogwarts was no exception. Her body felt completely comfortable lying on the soft mattress, but her mind was too busy racing with thoughts of the new world she stumbled into.

Finally, after feeling too frustrated, Ellie opened her eyes and glanced at the clock on Hermione's bedside table. The time was 1:55am. Ellie had only been in bed for an hour and a half. All of the four-poster beds in the room had their curtains shut tight, making Ellie feel even more isolated and alone.

After several minutes of staring blankly at the dark ceiling, Ellie realized that she wasn't going to fall back to sleep anytime soon, and decided to go down to the common room.


	17. A Late Night Conversation

Chapter 17: A Late Night Conversation

Downstairs, all the candles had been extinguished, and the only source of light was coming from the fire place. Everyone had gone to bed long ago, which left the eerily silent common room all to Ellie.

She slowly glanced around, watching the shadows of the vacant furniture dance on the stone walls.

"Have difficulty sleeping?"

Ellie's heart suddenly jumped into her throat at the sound of the voice. She turned to face the fireplace and saw a head peering around one of the large cushy armchairs.

"I'm sorry I startled you." Harry apologized.

"That's okay; I didn't see you sitting there." Ellie replied, her heart still racing.

She moved towards Harry and plopped down on the couch that was perpendicular to the chair he was sitting in.

The common room fell silent again. Ellie glanced at Harry who was gazing blankly into the fire, as if his mind was somewhere else.

Ellie was just about to ask Harry why he was still awake, when she had the sudden feeling of being watched.

Her eyes shifted to the far end of the couch where there was a small creature with large bat like ears, a pointed nose, and two tennis-ball sized eyes which were staring right at her.

Ellie let out a yelp of surprise at the sight of the creature.

"Hello Dobby." Harry said casually.

"Is it true that Harry Potter has brought a muggle to Hogwarts?" The creature asked in a squeaky voice, not taking his eyes off Ellie.

"Yes, it's true." Harry replied. "Dobby this is Ellie. Ellie, this is Dobby the house-elf." He introduced them with a mild amusement.

"Dobby has never seen a muggle before." Dobby said with a fascinated tone.

"Well, I've never seen a house-elf before." Ellie replied.

"Muggles don't look as filthy and disgusting as Dobby has been told." The house-elf commented.

"That's a relief." Ellie said, with a bit of resentment.

"Dobby use to belong to the Malfoy family." Harry informed her with a bit of a chuckle.

"Oh." Ellie said understanding what Harry meant.

"Muggles don't look that much different from wizards." Dobby stated, still staring at Ellie. "Dobby thinks wizards and muggles look exactly the same, except muggles don't have the Aura."

"Aura?" Harry said in a puzzled tone.

Ellie was relived that she wasn't the only one who didn't have a clue what Dobby was talking about.

"The Aura that surrounds all wizards. The aura that give the wizards the ability to do magic, Harry Potter." Dobby explained.

"I've never heard of this Aura before." Harry said.

"The Aura can only be seen by very few creatures. We house-elves can see it. It lets us house-elves know if we have to hide from people who are not meant to see house-elves."

There was another brief moment of silence before Dobby's ears suddenly perked up.

"Dobby must go now." He squeaked. "Dobby has a lot more cleaning to do before sunrise."

"It was nice meeting you Dobby." Ellie politely said.

"It was a pleasure meeting you too, Ellie muggle, miss." Dobby bowed so low that his long pointed nose scraped the floor.

"Good night Dobby." Harry said.

"Good night Harry Potter, sir."

And with a loud cracking noise, the house-elf vanished.

Once again the common room was silent, except for the occasional crackle from the dimming fire.

Harry went back to staring blankly at the fireplace. It was almost like he had forgotten that Ellie was still in the room. Ellie just quietly watched Harry. During this quiet moment, she became aware of an odd tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

_"It's probably excitement from meeting a house-elf for the first time."_ A tiny voice in her mind told her.

But Ellie had been experiencing this feeling of delight since she first came to Hogwarts.

_"It's just the thrill of discovering the magical world."_ The voice spoke again.

Ellie began to trace back the events of the day, when she suddenly had a clear vision of where and when she had first felt this sensation. She was in the Three Broomsticks, and she had just looked into the most brilliant green eyes she had ever seen.

Ellie quickly snapped back to reality, and realized that she was still staring at Harry. She darted her eyes away from him, hoping that he didn't notice just how long she had been looking at him.

However, Harry's gaze hadn't changed at all; he was still looking at the fireplace.

"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" Ellie blurted out. She wasn't really sure where this accusation was coming from.

"There are a lot of things you're not telling me." She said firmly.

Harry slowly glanced at Ellie.

"For someone as curious as you are, I'm surprised you didn't ask earlier." He frankly stated.

"I thought about it." Ellie said truthfully. "But I didn't want to invade your privacy. But whatever you're hiding, it's eating away at you."

Harry turned towards the fireplace again before sharply looking back at Ellie.

"I'll tell you everything if you tell me why a fifteen year old girl was wondering around downtown London all by herself." Harry stipulated.

Ellie's face dropped. She was completely caught off guard by such a proposition.

After a tense moment of silence, Ellie spoke.

"I was looking for answers." She simply replied.

"Answers for what?" Harry asked.

"A week ago Wednesday my cousin was killed in a bombing in downtown London. It was an open casket funeral, which was extremely odd for someone who died in a bomb explosion. There wasn't a single mark on my cousin, so I decided to investigate the street where the bombing took place. There was absolutely no structural damage to any of the buildings...and that's where I noticed the two men in cloaks." It was only after Ellie had finished talking when she realized that she had tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry about your cousin." Harry said in a consoling tone, but there was something about the expression in his face that caused Ellie to think that he knew something about the bombing that she didn't.

"Do you know who is responsible for my cousin's death?" Ellie asked firmly, wiping her cheeks.

Harry glanced down at the floor with a grave expression, and nodded.

"Yes, I do." He said quietly.

"Who?" Ellie asked urgently. She was finally going to hear the truth about Nicole's death.

Harry took a deep breath.

"There is an evil wizard by the name of Voldemort who is bent on becoming the most powerful wizard in the world. He has a group of followers called the Deatheaters, who gladly perform his every bidding." Harry paused, and Ellie began to wonder what all this had to do with her cousin.

"Over the past several months Deatheaters have been apperating in crowded muggle streets and killing as many muggles as possible with the Avada Kedavra curse. This curse kills anyone instantly without leaving a mark, and there is no counter curse. That is what killed your cousin."

"Why are they doing this?" Ellie asked horrified.

"It's a game to them. They see muggles as worthless, insignificant beings worth killing for the fun of it. Who ever kills the most muggles without getting caught wins the highest favor with Voldemort." Harry replied with a tone of disgust.

"Have any been caught yet?"

"Not many." Harry regretfully said.

"So, you're telling me the reason my cousin is dead is because of a _game_?" Ellie asked through clenched teeth, her eyes filling with tears again.

"I'm afraid so." Harry said lowly.

Ellie didn't know if she wanted to cry, scream or punch something.

A _game_! A sick, twisted game was the reason why she would never see Nicole ever again. Ellie had never felt so angry and devastated in her life. It felt like her head was spinning.

"My parents were killed by the Avada Kedavra curse too." Harry said suddenly.

The blood pounding in Ellie's ears subsided, and she was quickly brought back to reality. She stared into Harry's green eyes and could see the pain and tragedy behind them.

"I was only a year old, and I still have nightmares about it."

Harry then began to tell Ellie everything from his parents' death, and how he got his scar, to discovering that he was a wizard on his eleventh birthday. He continued to tell her every single detail about his five years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ellie was captivated by Harry's stories of his first year at school when he found the philosopher's stone and overcoming Voldemort for the second time; then about his second year when he discovered the chamber of secrets and defeated Voldemort in the form of a diary memory; in his third year he learnt about his parents being betrayed by a close friend, which his godfather, Sirius Black, was wrongfully accused and sent to the wizard prison Azkaban for it; then in his fourth year he was entered into the Triwizard tournament and was forced to be a part of Voldemort's rebirthing ceremony and finally the nightmares he suffered from last year, facing Voldemort in the ministry of magic, and witnessing the death of his godfather.

Ellie listened attentively to every word that came out of Harry's mouth. The story sounded so outrageous, but for some reason Ellie never doubted anything that Harry said, not even for a second. She sensed that Harry needed to tell his story from beginning to end to someone who didn't have any pre-judgments abut him, almost like a type of therapy.

"I spent months learning how to prevent Voldemort from invading my mind. Now I just suffer from the usual, run-of-the-mill nightmares, which is the reason why I can't sleep." Harry finished.

The room fell silent for the first time in quite a while. Harry had been talking for hours, and the night sky was gradually getting brighter.

"Isn't there anyone powerful enough to stop Voldemort?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah....me." Harry replied with a chuckle, as if it was the most ridiculous answer. "A prophecy was made before I was born stating that the one who will vanquish the dark lord will be marked as his equal, and that someone is me." He said bitterly with his voice growing louder.

Ellie could tell that the pressure of being the only one able to destroy Voldemort once and for all was building inside of Harry, and has been growing since he was first told abut the prophecy.

"I never asked for any of this to happen." Harry suddenly spat. "It's as if anything that can go wrong does go wrong."

"Its almost very Arthurian like." Ellie quietly said to herself.

"What?" Harry asked just barely overhearing what Ellie had said.

"In the legend of King Arthur, Arthur never asked to be the one to pull the sword out of the stone; he never wanted to be king. It was his destiny, and no matter what choices he made he couldn't avoid it."

The room fell silent as Ellie waited for a response from Harry, who seemed to be contemplating something.

"Wasn't King Arthur killed by his arch rival?" Harry asked.

Ellie had to think back to her Camelot story books before giving an answer.

"Well, Arthur fatally wounded his nephew Modred, but before Modred died he dealt Arthur a lethal blow to the head....so they both killed each other." Ellie replied with an uneasy tone.

"So you think I'm going to die." Harry said coldly.

"I didn't say that." Ellie said defensively.

"But you implied it." Harry retorted.

"I was simply using a metaphor to tell you that you're obviously destined to become a great hero, and you can't change that no matter what you do." Ellie spoke a bit louder than she intended, but she was trying very hard to get her point across.

"But I'll probably die doing whatever greatness I'm destined for." Harry said bitterly.

"Are you always this pessimistic?" Ellie asked incredulously. She was astonished by Harry's stubbornness to see that his life could turn out better than he thinks.

Harry remained silent, and continued to stare into the fireplace.

"Alright, here's a better question," Ellie began, "are you always this self-centered?"

"Self-centered!?!" Harry shouted, hardly believing his ears.

"That's right, self-centered." Ellie said coolly. "You're not the only person who has had a terrible life, or lost a loved one."

"Don't you dare compare your cousin's death to the death of my parents and godfather!" Harry's voice was full of venom, and his temper was rising.

"Don't worry, I'm not!" Ellie spat back. "But there are at least hundreds of other people, both magic and muggle, who have lost parents, godfathers, siblings, and best friends. Do you ever think about them?"

"They don't have a psychotic powerful wizard trying to kill them!" Harry shouted.

"Not yet they don't!" Ellie yelled back. "You need to start realizing that your life and destiny affects everyone else. You're the one who has the power to stop Voldemort, no one else. You're the one who will put an end to all these senseless muggle attacks, so other children will have parents to raise and take care of them. You're the one who will stop the battles between Deatheaters and wizards, so others won't have to burry another one of their best friends. This isn't just about how horrible your life is. It's about fulfilling your destiny, and ensuring that no body else will have to suffer the pain and loss you've experienced."

The common room fell dead silent. Even the dying fire wasn't crackling loudly anymore.

Harry had returned to staring into the fire, but his expression was no longer angry. Ellie wasn't sure if he was contemplating what she had said, or just ignoring her.

Finally Harry stood from the large cushy armchair and looked at Ellie.

"I should probably try to get some sleep. Quiddich practice starts in five hours." Harry said in a distant voice.

This wasn't the response Ellie was wanting, but at least he wasn't shouting anymore.

"Yeah, I should probably get some sleep too." She said. A wave of drowsiness seemed to come over Ellie without warning.

"Ellie." Harry quietly said.

Ellie had only taken one step up towards the girl's dormitories. She turned to look at Harry, but could just barely make out his features in the very dim room.

"Thanks." He simply said, and ran up to his dorm room.

Ellie stood at the bottom of her staircase, staring at the spot where Harry had just been. She could have sworn there was a smile on Harry's face just before he turned away.

The excited feeling in Ellie's stomach returned in full force, and Ellie wondered if she would be able to get any sleep at all.


	18. Quiddich And Confrontations

Chapter 18: Quiddich And Confrontations

"WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD, ITS TIME FOR YOU TO GET OUT OF BED! WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD, ITS TIME FOR YOU TO GET OUT OF BED!"

It took Ellie a moment to realize that the loud, annoying and chipper voice was coming from the clock on Hermione's bed side table. She groggily glanced at the clock and saw that it was 9:00am.

Just as Ellie's urge to throw the clock out the window was at its peak, Hermione emerged from the tightly shut velvet curtains, and tapped the clock once with her wand. The annoying voice ceased immediately. Hermione looked fully refreshed and rested, while Ellie felt like she could use several more hours of sleep.

"Come on Ellie, it's time to get up." Hermione said brightly.

Ellie groaned and pulled the covers over her head. Suddenly Ellie felt a cool breeze rush over her entire body. She opened one eye and saw the bed sheets hovering five feet above her. Hermione was standing next to the bed with her wand drawn out.

"Hurry up or we'll miss breakfast."

"Alright, I'm up!" Ellie said as she sat up and slowly dragged her feet over the side of the bed.

With out warning, the airborne bed sheets fell from the sky, completely covering Ellie.

She could just make out Hermione's poor attempts at muffling her snickering.

"It's not funny." Ellie said, un-amused.

"I'll wait for you down stairs." Hermione said with a chuckle in her voice.

Ellie then heard the sound of the dormitory door open and close.

She quietly sat on the edge of the bed, the bed sheets still draped over her.

"God, I hate mornings!" Ellie grumbled to herself.

Ellie was still rubbing the sleep out of her eye when she reached the common room. She found Hermione waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase.

"Harry and Ron have already gone down to the great hall." Hermione informed her as they passed through the portrait door. "Their quiddich practices usually go a bit long, so I thought I'd show you the lake and greenhouses before we head down to the quiddich pitch."

"Sounds good to me." Ellie said with a small yawn.

When they reached the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron had already finished eating.

"Sorry to eat and run on you two, but we gotta get down to the pitch before Katie kills us." Ron said standing from his seat.

"Did the rest of the team already leave?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, they left about five minutes ago. We're running behind schedule because someone," Ron gestured towards Harry, "slept in."

Ellie glanced at Harry, who was staring down at his breakfast plate, half asleep.

"Just so you know I'm going to give Ellie a tour of the greenhouses and lake before we watch your practice." Hermione informed Ron and Harry.

"Well, you won't miss much by the time we get changed, and sit through Katie's grueling pep talk." Ron replied unenthusiastically.

"Come on mate, we better get going." He said, prodding a very drowsy Harry in the arm.

Harry slowly stood up, and gave Ellie a small smile before following Ron out of the great hall.

Ellie was thankful that she was sitting down when this happened, because her knees would have collapse from beneath her had she been standing.

Once breakfast was over, Hermione lead Ellie outside to the first stop on the tour, the greenhouses. The warm humid air was a drastic change from the cold February wind that was blowing outside. Ellie was amazed at all the strange looking plants and flowers, as Hermione told her the names of each plant, and what magical properties they held.

At first glance of the very calm lake, Ellie thought it looked like a large dark grey mirror. After a few moments of gazing into the deep water Hermione began to lead the way to the quiddich pitch. As they got closer to the pitch, Ellie could just make out tiny objects flying over the high stands. She had heard Harry talk about the thrill and freedom of flying on a broomstick, but it was just another one of the many sights she would have to first see before believing.

Three players, dressed in bright scarlet robes zoomed by overhead, as Ellie and Hermione sat down in the front row of the stands. The swiftness and agility of the Gryffindor quiddich team was truly an amazing sight. Ellie had a moment to watch in awe before Hermione began to explain each of the player's positions, and the purpose of the three different balls.

"Harry, as you know, is the seeker. His job is to find the golden snitch, which is a walnut sized ball with wings. When he catches it the game is over and his team is awarded 150 points. Those two holding the bats, Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper," Hermione pointed to each player, "are beaters. Their job is to hit the bludgers, the two wild brown balls, away from their team mates, and towards the opposing team. Honestly, they're not very good, but they're doing better than last year."

Ellie watched Jack Sloper try to redirect a bludger away from Ginny Weasley, but he completely missed. It was a good thing that Ginny was paying attention, or she would have been hit directly in the head.

"Now, those three passing the red ball," Hermione pointed again, "Katie Bell, Natalie McDonald and Ron's sister Ginny, are the chasers, and that red ball is called the quaffle. Their job is to throw the quaffle into the other team's hoops for 10 points. Ron is the keeper, whose job is to stop the quaffle from getting through the hoops. He's improved a lot since last year." Hermione said proudly. "Do you have any questions about the game?" She asked Ellie.

Ellie just shook her head. She had tuned out Hermione's ramblings long ago, and was transfixed at the sight of Harry circling around the pitch on his broom. He looked so focused and content soaring through the sky. It was the glint in Harry's eye that told Ellie that flying was his ultimate passion.

Suddenly Harry went into a sharp forty-five degree dive at full speed towards the center of the pitch. His left arm was outstretched, as if he was trying to reach for something that was just in front of him, but Ellie couldn't see what it was.

Harry's hand snapped closed, and he pulled out of the dive just five feet above the field, with a triumphant grin on his face.

Ellie continued to watch Harry as he flew over to where she and Hermione were sitting. Harry dismounted his broom, and walked over to Ellie with his left hand still closed.

"This is what the golden snitch looks like." Harry said, slowly opening his hand.

Ellie stared curiously down at the small golden ball that rested in Harry's palm.

"It's beautiful." Ellie gasped.

Suddenly the snitch unfurled its thin delicate wings, hovered above Harry's hand for a second, circled once around Ellie's head and zoomed out of sight. The rapid movement of the snitch reminded Ellie of a hummingbird.

"Would you like to go for a ride?" Harry asked, motioning towards his broom.

"Really?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"Sure! When else will you ever get a chance to fly on a broomstick?" Harry smiled.

"Alright!" Ellie exclaimed excitedly. She began to imagine what Jo's reaction would be when she told her that she took a ride on a real flying broomstick.

But, before Ellie even had a chance to touch the broom, a cruel, drawling voice shouted, "Potter, you're not actually going to let that filthy, unwanted Muggle lay her filthy hand on your Firebolt, are you?!"

Ellie turned to see Draco Malfoy leading six large Slytherins onto the pitch. All of them were dressed in green practice robes, and carried their brooms over their shoulders.

"Actually Malfoy, I was going to let her ride it." Harry sneered back.

At that moment, Ellie realized that the Gryffindor quiddich team had stopped practicing, and were now standing behind her and Harry.

"That's very disappointing Potter." Malfoy said coldly. "And I thought you couldn't sink any lower than constantly hanging around the Mudblood."

Suddenly, Ellie felt someone trying to push her out of the way to take a shot at Malfoy. She turned around to see Ron being held back by both beaters, and all three chasers. The Slytherin team burst into malicious laughter.

When Ellie turned back around, she found Malfoy only five inches away from her face.

"Back off Malfoy!" Harry yelled, taking out his wand.

"Hasn't anyone told you that Muggles aren't welcomed at Hogwarts?" Malfoy spat at Ellie, ignoring Harry's warning.

"Hasn't anyone told you that you look stupid with slicked back hair?" Ellie spat back with out blinking.

Now it was the Gryffindors' time to burst into laughter.

Enraged at the fact that he'd just been insulted by a Muggle, Malfoy drew out his wand, but Harry was ready for him.

The two boys stared each other down, their wands pointing at each other's chest.

"Always playing the hero, aren't you Potter?" Malfoy snarled.

"And you're always playing the pompous git, aren't you Malfoy?" Harry retorted.

"What are you guys doing here anyways? We booked the quiddich pitch first." Ginny told the Slytherin team.

"You only booked the pitch from 9-11:30am. We have the pitch booked from 11:30am-2:30pm, and its 11:45am now. So that means that the pitch is ours." One of the Slytherins replied.

"Wow, you must have given yourself a headache trying to think up that logical answer." Ginny commented.

Soon every single player on both the Gryffindor, and Slytherin teams had their wands out and pointing at the opposing team. Even Hermione had her wand pointed at the Slytherins, making Ellie feel very left out.

"Come on guys. I think its best if we keep them in one piece for our next game." Katie Bell said from the back of the group. "That way we can humiliate them in front of the entire school."

It was a while before the Gryffindors reluctantly withdrew their wands, and left the quiddich pitch.


	19. Visiting A HalfGiant

Chapter 19: Visiting A Half-Giant

Harry and Ron were left in a bad mood after the confrontation with Malfoy. It was Hermione who suggested that they all go visit Hagrid. This idea seemed to lift the boys' spirits, and now Ellie was standing in front of the large wooden door that led into Hagrid's hut. Harry briskly knocked on the door. A dog began to bark from within followed by the sound of heavy footsteps.

Ellie had only ever seen Hagrid from a distance, both at the Three Broomsticks and at the feast. She knew he was a very large man, but his immense size still caught her by surprise when he opened the door. Hagrid's entire body filled the door frame.

"I was wonderin' when yeh guys were gonna visit me next." Hagrid smiled warmly. "Yeh must be Ellie." He said kindly as Ellie entered the tiny cottage.

Hagrid then shook Ellie's hand which became completely engulfed by his monstrous palm.

"It's nice to meet you." Ellie said quietly, still astounded by Hagrid's size.

Hagrid just smiled down at her, then quickly turned his attention to the whistling kettle hanging over the fire. After pouring everyone a cup of tea, Hagrid took a seat in his large arm chair.

"Yeh two just comin' back from quiddich practice?" He asked Harry and Ron, realizing that they were dressed in their practice robes.

"Yeah." Harry replied.

"How'd it go?"

"Fine, until Malfoy and team Slytherin showed up." Ron answered bitterly.

"Uh oh." Hagrid said with a worrisome tone.

"Don't worry, no one was hexed." Hermione reassured him.

A wave of relief swept over Hagrid's face.

"But it was close." Harry added.

"What did Malfoy do this time?" Hagrid asked.

"He insulted Ellie." Harry replied.

"And Hermione." Ron quickly added.

"Well, that's expected from Malfoy. Be thankful it wasn't worse." Hagrid said taking a sip of tea. "Personally, I was surprised that Dumbledore even let Ellie stay at Hogwarts."

"So, you don't think I'm welcomed here either?"

"I didn' mean it like that Ellie." Hagrid said apologetically. "Its jus' that a muggle has never laid eyes on Hogwarts let alone stay for a few days. It's bound to upset people, an' cause trouble, especially from the Slytherins. An' believe me, the las' thing any muggle needs is more trouble."

"What do you mean by that?" Ellie asked puzzled.

Hagrid remained silent for a moment before placing his cup and saucer on the table next to his chair, and took a deep breath.

"Righ' now muggles aren't safe. I'm sure yeh've heard of the bombings that have 'bin occurring around London. Well, they're not bombings at all. A wizard is responsible...a very bad wizard."

"You mean Voldemort?"

Everyone, except Harry, stared at Ellie with stunned expressions.

"How do you know about Voldemort?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"I told her." Harry replied before Ellie had a chance.

"Exactly how much did you tell her?" Hermione asked in a bit of alarm.

"Everything." Harry answered plainly.

"Well, if Harry told yeh everythin' then yeh know how ruthless and evil Yeh-Know-Who is." Hagrid said to Ellie.

"I do." Ellie said solemnly. The image of her cousin's pale dead body, peacefully lying in a casket clouded her mind.

"I mean jus' look at the las' muggle attack," Hagrid continued, "nine dead an' four missin'. No muggle is safe as long as Yeh-Know-Who is around."

Ellie suddenly snapped out of her mournful frame of mind.

"Four missing?!" She exclaimed, "The news reported that there were thirteen people killed in the bombing. There was no mention of anyone missing."

"I shouldn' have said that." Hagrid mumbled to himself.

"The Daily Prophet also reported that thirteen muggles died in that attack." Hermione commented.

"How do you know that four muggles went missing Hagrid?" Harry asked skeptically.

Hagrid remained silent, nervously playing with his bushy beard.

"What do you know that you're not telling us?" Harry pried even further.

Hagrid gave a low reluctant sigh.

"The problem _is_ not much is known at all." Hagrid said lowly. There was a brief pause of silence before he continued. "When the Aurors were doin' their investigation they discovered that there were four muggles unaccounted for. They eventually came ter the conclusion that they were taken by the Deatheaters."

"But why would the Daily Prophet report that all of the muggles were killed?" Hermione asked.

"'Cause it's extremely out o' character for Deatheaters to kidnap muggles. Usually they either torture 'em or kill 'em. If every wizard discovered that the Deatheaters are acting unusual it would cause more fear an' panic than there already is. It was jus' easier to announce that all o' 'em were dead....they probably are, poor souls." Hagrid muttered sadly.

"But why?!" Ellie cried in frustration. "Why would they leave some dead, but take others? Why do they even have to attack muggles in the first place?" A lone tear trickled down her cheek.

"That's jus' what Deatheaters do. They get pleasure out o' killin'...they're twisted like that...makes 'em feel powerful." Hagrid replied with disgust. "As for the reason why they took those four muggles, that's the question no one can find the answer to.....not the ministry, not the order, not even Dumbledore."

Ellie gazed down at her lap in despair. Terrible things were happening, and not even the magic world had answers on how to stop it.

The remaining time with Hagrid was very quiet. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts as they finished the rest of their tea.


	20. A Surprise Attack

Chapter 20: A Surprise Attack

After saying a fond fair well to Hagrid, Ellie followed Harry, Ron and Hermione back to the castle. They had only walked half way across the field when Harry abruptly stopped.

"There's something I forgot to ask Hagrid. I'll meet up with you back in the common room." Harry said quickly, as he ran back towards the tiny hut.

For the rest of the afternoon Ellie constantly replayed the conversation with Hagrid in her mind. She continuously debated with herself, wondering if it would be better to have a loved one go missing in the attack, or be killed.

"If they're just missing, then there is a chance, no matter how small, that they could still be alive." Ellie thought to herself.

_"But if you know that they're dead, then there isn't any anxiety over whether there alive or not."_

The two voices continued to go back and forth right until dinner.

The great hall didn't sound as noisy as it had the night before. There was still some whispering and pointing, but most of the students had grown accustomed to Ellie's presence. The entire Slytherin table glowered at her as she walked by, which Ellie fully expected.

The food was absolutely scrumptious. Roasted Chicken, BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, and corn on the cob covered the tables. Ellie had gulped down her third glass of pumpkin juice when she realized she had to use the bathroom, and wasn't too sure where the closest one was.

"I'll show you." Hermione offered.

The two girls got up from their seats and headed out the great hall.

"So what's going on with you and Harry?" Hermione frankly asked as Ellie stepped out of the stall.

Ellie was caught completely off guard. "Excuse me?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed!"

"Noticed what?" Ellie asked puzzled.

"You know that tiny glint in Harry's eye when he's flying on his broomstick?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, he gets that same glint every time he looks at you."

Ellie could feel her face begin to turn red, and suddenly took great interest in washing her hands for the second time.

"I was just wondering if anything was going on." Hermione said nonchalantly.

"Hermione, I've barely known him for two days." Ellie replied, watching the water run over her fingers.

"I'm aware of how long you've known each other. It's just.... I've never seen Harry act like this, not even around Cho."

Ellie felt her fist involuntarily clench at the mention of Cho Chang's name.

"First he approaches you, out of no where, at the Three Broomsticks, and invites you to sit at our table, then he stays up all night telling you his life story, and today he offers you a ride on his firebolt. It's just strange seeing him like this."

Hermione began to walk towards the door, but stopped before opening it. Ellie turned off the faucet and realized that Hermione was staring right at her.

"It's...." Hermione began hesitantly, "It's almost as if you're supposed to be here."

Ellie glared at Hermione curiously before following her out of the girl's bathroom.

Ellie and Hermione had just turned the corner when a voice shouted from behind them "Stupify!". A dull thud echoed throughout the corridor from Hermione's body collapsing.

Malicious laughter filled the air. Ellie whipped around to see Draco Malfoy holding his wand, flanked by his two goons. The three Slytherins drew closer, all with sinister smirks.

"Now you're going to find out what happens to muggles who overstep their boundaries." Malfoy snarled.

Crabbe and Goyle let out a low grunt like chuckle. Ellie was in a panic. She quickly backed away, but the grey, stone wall prevented her from going any further. Malfoy was getting closer. Ellie helplessly glanced down at Hermione who was out cold. Malfoy began to raise his wand to perform a curse. Ellie shut her eyes tightly, and cringed against the cold wall, expecting the worse. The next thing she heard was a voice loudly saying "Expelliarmus!"

Ellie cracked open one of her eyes just in time to see Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle's wands soar across the hallway to where Harry and Ron were standing.

"Well, Potter, I see you've managed to arrive just in time.....again." Malfoy sneered.

"I warned you to leave her alone." Harry said threateningly.

"What is going on here?"

Prof. Snape, the potions master, was standing directly behind Harry and Ron, with a very disapproving expression.

"Potter and Weasley stole our wands!" Malfoy replied quickly.

"That's a lie! Harry and Ron were protecting me." Ellie shouted.

Snape glanced at the two wands in Ron's hand, and the extra one in Harry's.

"I believe the evidence speaks for its self." The potions master said coldly.

"Yeah, right...and I was the one who hexed Hermione!" Ellie spoke with as much sarcasm as she possibly could.

The entire corridor fell silent.

"It's a shame muggle schools don't teach their students how to respect their teachers." Snape responded with gritted teeth.

"They do teach us respect. But they also teach us to stand up against injustice." Ellie replied with confidence.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor!" Snape's voice rang out.

"You can't take points from me!" Ellie shouted in outrage.

"I can, and I did. And I can even take more off if you like."

"I'm not even a Hogwarts student."

"You're staying in Gryffindor, so you're Gryffindor's responsibility."

"Incase you haven't notice, the robes that Prof. Dumbledore gave me have a crest that represents all four houses, so if points are to be taken away for my behavior, then they should be taken from each house." Ellie disputed.

"She does have a point Severus."

The transfiguration teacher, Prof. McGonagall, stepped around the corner from where the girl's lavatory was.

"I have the situation under control Minerva."

"I'm sure you do Severus, but I must agree with Miss. Richard that it is not fair to penalize Gryffindor for her actions."

Prof. McGonagall then took notice of Hermione, who was still laying unconscious on the floor. She took out her wand and said "Enneverate!".

Hermione let out a low groan and slowly sat up, rubbing her head.

"Now," Prof. McGonagall began, putting her wand back in her pocket, "ten points will be taken from each of you boys for using magic in the corridors. As six year students, and Prefects, you should know better. I believe that punishment is more than fair, don't you agree Severus?"

"Far too fair if you ask me." Snape grunted.

"Now, I want all of you to go straight to your common rooms before I change my mind. And Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, please return those wands to their rightful owners."

Harry and Ron both hesitantly gave the wands back to Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Ellie helped Hermione to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked with concern.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, still holding her head.

"We'll explain everything on the way to Gryffindor tower." Harry replied.

"So, how did you know that we were in danger?" Ellie asked Harry and Ron after filling Hermione in on what she'd missed.

"We saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle leave the Slytherin table just after you'd left. We figured they'd be up to no good." Harry answered. "Fidus Achates!"

The portrait door swung forward and they all stepped inside.


	21. A Beautiful Moonlit Night

Chapter 21: A Beautiful Moonlit Night

Harry and Ron used the rest of the night to finish homework that was due the next day, while Hermione started working on an assignment that wouldn't be due until another three weeks. Ellie spent the time glancing through the text books that Hermione wasn't using. Her favorite book was _Intermediate Transfigurations _where she watched a picture of a horse change into a saddle and back again.

As the night went on Ellie was beginning to sense that Harry was acting unusually tense. He kept glancing at his watch every five minutes as he worked on his potions homework. After an hour Ellie discovered that she wasn't the only one who noticed Harry's odd behavior.

"Something wrong mate?" Ron asked Harry, who was looking down at his watch again.

"No....everything's fine." Harry replied quickly, and continued with his homework.

It was very plain to both Ron and Ellie that Harry was lying, but neither one decided to press the matter any further.

It was exactly eleven o'clock when Harry suddenly packed up all his books and ran up stairs to the boy's dormitory.

"What is with him tonight?" Hermione asked in bewilderment.

Ellie and Ron both shrugged their shoulders.

A few seconds later Harry came running back down the stairs, concealing something underneath his arm.

"Ellie, could you come with me for a moment?" He asked without pausing to catch his breath.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked with a bit of uncertainty.

"You'll see." Harry simply replied.

Ellie quickly glanced back at Hermione and Ron who were both looking just as puzzled as she was.

"Alright." She replied, and slowly stood from her chair.

"Harry, exactly what are you up to?" Hermione blatantly asked.

"I'll tell you all about it later." Harry answered as he walked out the portrait door.

"I'll try my best to keep him out of trouble." Ellie said with a slightly uneasy tone, just before leaving the Gryffindor common room.

Out in the corridor, Ellie had expected to see Harry waiting for her, but he was no where in sight.

"Harry?" Ellie spoke in a panicked whisper.

"I'm right here."

Ellie jumped at the sound of a voice that was right next to her. She turned to see Harry emerging out of thin air.

"It's my dad's invisibility cloak." Harry explained the strange material he was holding.

"Next time, warn me when you're going to appear out of nowhere like that?" Ellie said sternly.

"Sorry." Harry apologized.

He then wrapped the cloak around Ellie and himself, and they began to walk through the empty hallway.

"Now can you tell me where we're going?" Ellie asked.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a surprise." Harry replied with a smirk.

Ellie shot him a suspicious glare, but continued to follow his lead. It was when they stepped outside that Ellie became even more perplexed on where Harry was taking her.

It was a clear and beautiful night. There was a soft, crisp breeze that cause the cloak to press gently against Ellie's body. The brilliant moon and stars provided just enough light for Ellie and Harry to see their way across the field.

"Are we going to visit Hagrid again?" Ellie ventured a guess, but Harry remained silent.

They continued to walk towards Hagrid's hut, and Ellie was starting to believe that her suspicion was correct, but she was caught by surprise again when Harry led her right passed it.

The two of them were now walking just ten feet away from the edge of the forbidden forest, nether speaking a word. Finally, Ellie could make out Hagrid's enormous outline in the distance. He was standing next to a large fenced off area near the forest, staring into their direction, as if he was awaiting their arrival.

Ellie's eyes were drawn past Hagrid, towards the far end of the paddock, and her jaw dropped.

"Hagrid, we're here." Harry announced as he removed the invisibility cloak.

"I was startin' teh think that yeh weren't gonna show." Hagrid said.

With her mouth still gapping, Ellie approached the edge of the paddock in a state of awe.

"It's beautiful." Ellie whispered in astonishment.

"Yeh can go pet her if yeh like." Hagrid offered, smiling.

Ellie couldn't believe her ears, and stared at the half giant in disbelief.

"Go on." Harry encouraged her.

Ellie's heart was beating rapidly, as she climbed over the paddock fence. She tried to walk very stealth like, but her nerves were making her very clumsy, as a twig snapped loudly under her foot. The sound startled the unicorn who frantically tried to run towards the forest, but couldn't take more than a few steps since it was tethered to a thick tree branch. Ellie remained perfectly still until the unicorn had calmed down which only took a few seconds. The unicorn was so white it looked like it was glowing in the moon light. The golden horn and hooves shone against the dark surroundings. Ellie felt like she was walking in a dream. As a child, she had often imagined seeing a real unicorn, but that dream faded years ago. Now she was standing just one foot away from her favorite animal in the entire universe. For what seemed like an eternity, Ellie finally raised her hand to touch the magical creature. The hair was so soft and smooth; nothing like anything Ellie had ever felt before. For the first time Ellie didn't feel like she was dreaming any more. It was all real. The unicorn tilted its head in acknowledgment of Ellie's presence, as Ellie continued to gently stroke the unicorn down its neck line.

"Aren't you going to come?" Ellie asked as she glanced back at Harry and Hagrid.

"No." Harry replied. "Unicorns prefer a woman's touch."

Ellie suddenly realized that this night had been specifically planned for her.

It was difficult to say good bye to the unicorn, but Ellie knew that it was getting late. She said a very grateful thank you to Hagrid before walking with Harry back to the school. Harry carried the invisibility cloak underneath his arm since he didn't think it was necessary for them to wear it until they were back inside the castle.

"Harry, I really want to thank you for tonight. I hope it wasn't too much trouble." Ellie could feel her cheeks begin to blush.

"It wasn't any trouble. I just remember you saying how much you liked unicorns, so I figured it'd be nice for you to see a real one." Harry said modestly.

"Well, I certainly won't be able to look at my unicorn collection the same way again." Ellie commented.

Harry abruptly stopped and stared at Ellie.

"What is it?" Ellie asked in slight alarm.

"I still owe you a broomstick ride." Harry smiled.

"What? Now?!"

"Why not? You probably won't have time to do it tomorrow."

"But isn't your broomstick back in your dorm room?"

"Yeah, but that can be easily fixed." Harry replied with a cunning grin.

He took out his wand, pointed it towards the castle and said "Accio Firebolt!".

At first nothing happened. Ellie was beginning to wonder if the spell had worked at all, but before she could say anything she could hear a faint zooming sound growing louder. The Firebolt came to an abrupt halt directly next to Harry.

"So?" Harry asked Ellie, casually putting his wand back into his pocket.

Ellie approached the broomstick with a glint of excitement in her eyes.

But suddenly the tiny voice in the back of her head told her, "You can't even get a magic wand to work, what makes you think that you can fly a broomstick?". The image of herself mounting the broom and then falling flat on her face was far too embarrassing to even attempt.

Harry seemed to recognize Ellie's hesitation immediately and asked, "Would you feel more comfortable if I fly the broom and you just sit behind me?".

"Can you do that?" Ellie asked with a bit of relief.

"Sure, there's plenty of room for the two of us."

Harry mounted the Firebolt first, keeping it steady as Ellie climbed behind him.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked.

Ellie's stomach turned with anticipation.

"Ready!" She replied, wrapping her arms around Harry's chest.

Their feet left the ground, a bit faster than Ellie had expected. She held on tightly to Harry as they picked up more speed. The crisp night breeze rustled through Ellie's hair, as Harry zigzagged by the castle turrets. Harry suddenly made a sharp dive towards the lake, which caused Ellie to squeeze even tighter. She could just barely make out Harry's voice over the wind rushing over her ears to loosen her grip.

Their toes just barely skimmed across the lake, causing ripples to form in its mirror like surface. They then proceeded to the quiddich pitch where they weaved in and out of the goal hoops and completed several laps around the stands.

Ellie had never felt such freedom before, and she now fully understood why Harry loved flying so much. It was freedom from school, freedom from family, freedom from the entire world, both magic and muggle.

She gently rested her head against Harry's back and prayed that the night would never end.


	22. The Potions Class

Chapter 22: The Potions Class

Ellie woke up feeling fully refreshed, despite the fact that it was way past midnight when she and Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room. She quietly watched Hermione pick up her book bag from the foot of her bed, before they both went down to the common room, where they would meet up with Harry and Ron.

"It's a shame you have to leave today." Ron commented as the four passed through the portrait door. "It's really been great having someone else cause trouble other than us."

Ellie's stomach suddenly dropped. The thought of leaving Hogwarts hadn't even crossed her mind. A very disheartening feeling swept through her as she glanced briefly at Harry. She wasn't ready to leave him, especially after the night they had spent together. Somehow Ellie managed to burry her sadness, and found the determination to enjoy the remaining time she had left in the magic world.

The first class of the day was Charms with Prof. Flitwick. Ellie took a seat next to Harry, and patiently waited for the class to begin. Most of the students were still whispering, and pointing in her direction, which lead Ellie to wonder if they were ever going to grow up. After a few minutes of waiting, tiny Prof. Flitwick entered the room. In order for him to see over the class, he had to climb a tall stack of books that were piled behind his desk.

Ellie was extremely excited to experience first hand how someone would go about learning a magic spell. However, she became incredibly disappointed when Prof. Flitwick asked, in his squeaky voice, for her to borrow someone's wand, and stand at the front of the classroom. Instead of learning that week's lesson, the entire class watched Ellie try, and miserably fail, to perform the various charms Flitwick asked her to recite, using Harry's wand. Ellie had never felt so humiliated, as the students let out uncontrollable laughter.

After class, Ellie's anger was at full force.

"Is that what passes for entertainment in the magic world, exploiting muggles?" She exclaimed in outrage, following Harry, Ron and Hermione down two flights of stairs.

The three Gryffindors didn't say a word. Ellie knew that they weren't the ones who were laughing, but they didn't do much to stop it either.

"This way Ellie." Ron said, as he turned down one corridor, while Harry and Hermione continued to walk towards another staircase.

"Where are you going?" Ellie demanded. She got the feeling that she was being abandoned, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Hermione and I have Potions." Harry replied awkwardly.

"And you don't?" Ellie snapped at Ron.

"My Potion grade wasn't high enough." Ron answered, sounding slightly ashamed. "So, I have to take Muggle Studies instead. It actually isn't as bad as it sounds."

"So you all thought that the muggle would rather go to the Muggle Studies class, where she can be turned into another spectacle for everyone to laugh at?"

"It's not like that at all." Hermione quickly intervened to get Ellie's temper under control. "It's just that Snape and Malfoy will both be in Potions class, and we thought it would be safer if you weren't there."

"Personally, I'd rather put up with Snape and Malfoy than be humiliated for an entire class." Ellie said firmly.

"You're right." Harry spoke before Hermione had a chance to dispute. "It was unfair for us to assume you'd want to go with Ron to Muggle Studies. We should have talked to you about it first. If you really want to go to our Potions class, you can."

"But I'd highly advise against it." Hermione stated, shooting a very disappointing glare at Harry.

"Thank you." Ellie said calmly. "I'd much rather sit in on a Potions class than Muggle Studies. No offence Ron."

"Prof. Ethnole isn't going to be happy about this." Ron mumbled, as he continued on his way down the corridor.

"We better hurry, or we'll be late for class." Harry commented, glancing down at his watch.

It was Ellie's first time being in the dungeons, and they were even more drab and musty than she had imagined. Ellie followed Harry and Hermione into a room where several students were already seated. Malfoy, who was sitting at the front of the class, gave her a look of disgust as soon as she entered the room. Waiting for Prof. Snape to arrive, Ellie looked at the various bottles and jars filled with intriguing and bizarre substances, which she could only assume were ingredients. There was also a strange aroma that hung in the air. It reminded Ellie of the odd smell in the apothecary, except that this was much more nauseating.

Prof. Snape made a grand swooping entrance, his billowing black cloak flowing behind. His piercing dark eyes slowly scanned the class, and finally rested on Ellie.

"Potter, you should know better than to bring pets into class." Snape sneered. All the Slytherins snickered, Malfoy being the loudest.

"However," he continued in a blasé tone, "the Headmaster, for some strange reason, request that Ms. Richards observes some classes, so I must, unwillingly, comply. The problem is that I don't allow anyone to just observe my classes, they must participate."

"But last year Prof. Umbridge-"

"That's twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter!" Snape growled. "As I was saying, the bigger dilemma is that Muggles can't do magic. Sure they can mix, and brew the correct ingredients, using the proper materials, but they still lack the most vital ingredient to any potion, the magical power that gives the potion its effect. . But since I can't have you sit in a corner and do nothing, you can assist Mr. Potter with cutting and measuring his ingredients."

Snape dramatically turned towards the black board, and with a tap of his want, the day's assignment appeared. It was a complicated memory potion that required the most exact measurements, and procedure. The entire class promptly began to prepare themselves for a potion that would take the entire two hours to complete.

Ellie rather enjoyed cutting Abyssinian Shrivelfig and stripping Jabberknoll feathers, while Harry ensured that his cauldron was at the precise temperature. Actually participating, and contributing to class was far more better than being laughed at, Ellie thought to herself. In fact, the class was going much better than expected. All the students kept to themselves, keeping their focus on producing a memory potion that would hopefully earn them a high grade. At one point Ellie even prevented Harry from adding the Graphorn before the Nettles. By the end of class, Harry and Ellie's memory potion was a vibrant dark blue, like it should be, and even looked better than Hermione's, which seemed to annoy her.

With five minutes left to go, everyone was handed a small glass jar, which they were to label their name on, and put the potion into for grading. By accident, Ellie was also given a glass jar, which she also filled with a ladle full of potion. Every single cauldron was magically cleaned as the students made a queue to hand in their hard work. Ellie secretively slipped the tiny jar into her pocket, thinking that it would make a great souvenir, and might even help Jo in remembering when her birthday was.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise of shattering glass. Ellie turned around to see Harry standing at the front of the line, looking as if he was ready to punch Snape in the jaw.

"Well Potter, it looks like you'll be receiving another zero." Snape sneered with pleasure.

After standing still for a few moments, Harry managed to restrain his anger, and started to walk away.

Ellie quickly ran to the front of the classroom, took the small jar from her pocket, and handed it to Harry.

"It's a good thing you were given a partner today." Ellie winked.

Realizing what he had in his hand, Harry immediately labeled the potion, put an unbreakable charm on the glass jar, just to be safe, and gave it to the Potions Master.

Snape shot a spiteful glare at Ellie, then suspiciously glanced at the jar.

"I'm curious, Ms. Richards, why a muggle, like yourself, would have her own jar of memory potion." Snape inquired.

"I was given an empty jar, and thought it would look better filled."

"And I'm sure an intelligent girl like you would also realize that it is forbidden for a muggle to possess any magical materials, especially a magic potion."

"I do realize that." Ellie responded curtly.

"Then please explain to my why you had this." Snape demanded, holding the jar of memory potion in Ellie's face.

"It turns out that I just happen to be one of those rare muggles who have the ability to see into the future, and knew that you were going to sabotage Harry's grade." Ellie said, sarcasm dripping of each word. "But then again, it doesn't take a psychic to see that your hands are so slimy that they wouldn't be able to grip something as simple as a glass jar."

The entire dungeon went silent. Snape's face turned purple with furry, which was the most colour Ellie had ever seen in his complexion.

"Ellie, I think we should go." Hermione whispered in her right ear.

Ellie turned on her heel, but bumped into someone who was standing directly behind her. Another jar fell to the stone floor, the tiny shards coming to rest in a pool of blue liquid. Ellie was about to apologize, as she removed her gaze from the floor, but looked up only to find herself staring into Draco Malfoy's furious face.

"Well, it appears that Slytherin house consists of nothing but butterfingers." She quipped. "No wonder you have so much difficulty trying to catch the snitch."

"Come on Ellie, time to go." Hermione said shortly, forcefully pushing Ellie out of the class room. Harry followed right behind.

Just before the door closed behind them, Ellie glanced back to see Snape and the Slytherin students looking purely outraged, and the remainder of the class with stunned expressions at what had just occurred.

Walking away, Ellie found it very fitting that she helped create a memory potion in a class she would never want to forget.


	23. More Bad News

Chapter 23: More Bad News

Ellie and Harry chuckled quietly to themselves on the way to the great hall. Hermione didn't seem to be too impressed with Ellie's behavior in the potions class, but she didn't scold her about it either. They found Ron sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table, waiting for their arrival.

"So, how was it?" He asked with interest.

"I had a lot of fun." Ellie replied casually.

"Fun? In Snape's class?" Ron said in disbelief. "What aren't you telling me?"

Just before Ellie had a chance to tell Ron what had happened, all the other Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor students who were in the 6th year, N.E.W.T. level, potions class surrounded them.

"That was amazing!"

"I couldn't believe you did that!"

"You should have seen Snape's expression after you left."

"Not to mention Malfoy's."

Dozens of excited voices were overlapping each other, trying to get an equal share of giving their kudos to Ellie.

"What on earth did I miss?!?!" Ron exclaimed.

It was Dean Thomas who took the responsibility of telling every detail of Ellie's bold actions in the Potions class.

Every student within ear shot stopped to hear the story of how a muggle made a fool of the most feared teacher and despised student in Hogwarts. Once Dean was finished a roar of applause filled the air.

Ellie couldn't help but blush at the unexpected jubilation she'd caused.

"For the first time in my life I wish I had been in Snape's class." Ron commented.

"It's really not that big of deal." Ellie said modestly.

"Are you kidding? This is huge!"

"Standing up to a teacher, especially Snape makes you a hero in my book." Neville Longbottom said with a tone of admiration.

Ellie could feel her cheeks begin to go pink again.

The group of students surrounding them continued to grow as word of Ellie's 'heroics' quickly spread throughout the school.

"Mr. Potter! Ms. Richards!" Prof. McGonagall's voice boomed over the laughter and chatter.

The great hall suddenly became quiet, and the large group quickly disbursed leaving McGonagall free to approach Ellie and Harry.

"The Headmaster would like to see the two of you in his office immediately."

Ellie and Harry looked at each other gravely. They were in trouble, and they both knew it.

"Well, it was nice knowing you." Ellie commented glumly to Ron and Hermione as she stood from her seat.

Everyone remained silent as Ellie and Harry followed McGonagall out of the great hall.

"Canary Cream!"

Prof. McGonagall gave the password, and the stone gargoyle immediately jumped aside.

Harry and Ellie remained motionless, not wanting to go up the moving staircase.

"It's not nice to keep the Headmaster waiting." McGonagall said sharply.

With great reluctance, Harry and Ellie made their way up to Dumbledore's office.

Inside, everything looked exactly the same as it did two and a half days ago when Ellie had first stepped foot in the Headmaster's office.

It had only been two and a half days, but it had felt more like a life time. Maybe that was part of the magic.

Dumbledore sat alone at his desk, but stood when Ellie and Harry entered.

"Pleas sit," Prof. Dumbledore said, as two armchairs magically appeared in front of his desk. "I have something very important to discuss with you."

"Professor, Snape was being a complete-"

"Harry, this has noting to do with Prof. Snape, or anything that happened in the potions class."

"Oh" Was all that Harry could reply.

The grave and serious tone in Dumbledore's voice told Ellie that this matter was much more severe than insulting a teacher.

Dumbledore quietly took a seat in the large chair behind his desk. He sighed deeply. Ellie and Harry both took this as a cue to sit in the two cushy chairs provided.

"I regret to inform you that there has been another attack in downtown London."

Ellie felt her entire body go numb.

"How many are dead, and how many are missing?" Ellie's voice sounded weak, as if she was afraid to hear the answer.

"There are two dead and five missing."

"I see."

"This recent attack is causing more panic and fear in the muggle world than the previous ones. And this is why I think it is best for you to go home now, as oppose to later this afternoon as originally planned."

"Oh." Ellie said in disappointment. She was far from ready to leave the magic world, and she especially didn't want to leave Harry.

"To make matters worse, the muggle world is now fully aware of the existence of wizards and the magic world." Dumbledore added with a grave tone.

Ellie's eyes grew wide. "W-What? How...how do they know?" She stuttered in disbelief.

"At the moment I don't know, but I'm expecting an owl with the full details at any moment." Again Dumbledore heavily sighed. "I'm afraid at the rate that everything is progressing relations between our worlds are looking grim."

The Headmaster's office fell silent, as the grave news truly set in.

"So, exactly how do I get home?" Ellie asked, finally accepting Dumbledore's decision.

"You'll be using a portkey."

"So you're just going to send her back?" Harry interrupted with a bitter tone.

"Yes I am. Harry, you knew her stay wasn't going to be permanent."

"But how do you know if she'll be safe? How do you know that she won't be attacked the moment she gets home?" The volume of Harry's voice had increased dramatically.

"I have my assurances." Dumbledore replied calmly.

"Oh really? Who?"

"I've made arrangements for Arabella Figg to escort Ms. Richards home."

"Mrs. Figg is a squib! If they're attacked they'll be completely defenseless." Harry shouted.

"Then what do you suggest we do Harry?" Dumbledore asked with interest.

"I'd rather have myself take her home."

"Harry, you know very well that Voldemort's powers are increasing everyday, and given the opportunity-"

"It'll only be for a few minutes, and the portkey can send me right back."

Dumbledore looked firmly at Harry, and Harry stared right back.

Ellie could tell that Dumbledore didn't like this idea one bit, but she also knew that the Headmaster was far too familiar with the wrath of Harry's stubbornness.

"Alright Harry, you can take Ms. Richards home." Dumbledore reluctantly gave in. "But you will only have five minutes before the portkey will bring you back."

Harry agreed to the terms.

Dumbledore then picked up a quill from his desk top, and examined it thoughtfully. "Yes, this will do."

"You used a portkey to get to the quiddich world cup, didn't you Harry?" Ellie asked remembering back to the long talk she and Harry had on her first night in Hogwarts.

Harry nodded.

"So, we just have to touch it, and it'll send us directly to Little Whinging?" She asked for clarification.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Harry replied.

Dumbledore was now pointing his wand at the quill and lowly said "Portus". A brilliant blue aura surrounded the feather as it shook on the desk. The shaking abruptly stopped and the aura disappeared.

"You will land in the park at the end of Magnolia Road. Mrs. Figg will be waiting for you there. Remember, you have five minutes."

"Right." Harry nodded, as he took the quill from Dumbledore.

"Ms. Richards, I'm afraid I can't let you go home dressed like that." Dumbledore smiled.

Ellie glanced down and realized that she was still in her Hogwarts uniform. With a small wave of his wand, Dumbledore transfigured the school robes into Ellie's shirt, jacket and jeans.

Now that she was ready to leave, Ellie took hold of the feather tip, and nervously listened to Dumbledore's voice count, "one...two...three..."

Suddenly, Ellie felt the sensation of something grabbing her navel, and pulling her forward. Dumbledore, the portraits on the wall, and the many odd gadgets that filled the office all disappeared. She was now falling through a blur of colours and sounds.

Her feet hit hard against the ground, and she immediately lost her balance. Trying her best to brush off the grass stains, Ellie glanced up at her surroundings.

She was home.


	24. An Unexpected Turn Of Events

Chapter 24: An Unexpected Turn Of Events

"What are you doing here?!"

Mrs. Figg was gazing down at Harry, who was still laying on the ground.

"I wanted to make sure that Ellie got home safely." Harry responded curtly.

Mrs. Figg eyed him suspiciously.

"So, you have everything under control, do you?" She asked in a demeaning tone.

"Yes, I do." Harry answered confidently.

"Then I guess there is no need for me to hang around."

"I guess not."

"It was nice to see you again Mrs. Figg." Ellie said politely just before Mrs. Figg walked away.

The old woman gave her a slight nod in acknowledgment, before continuing on towards Wisteria Walk.

Ellie's home was only six houses down on the opposite side of the street.

"Well, this is it." Ellie said, standing at her front door. She felt weird being back home.

Ellie tuned the knob and pushed on the door. It was locked.

"I forgot it was still early afternoon." Ellie rolled her eyes at herself.

Before she could even bend down to get the spare key, which was hidden under a rock in the flower bed, the front door flew open.

In the door way stood Ellie's father, holding a cricket bat. His hair was very messy, and his eyes were red with a terrified look in them.

"Dad? Are you alright?" Ellie asked baffled at her father's appearance, and why he was home so early. Instead of giving her an answer, Mr. Richards pulled his daughter into a tight hug. Ellie thought she was going to suffocate against her father's chest, but managed to free herself in time.

"Dad, what's going on?" She had never seen her father act like this before.

"When I couldn't find you to tell you about your mother, I was worried they had taken you too."

"What are you talking about? What about mom? Who's 'they'?" Ellie's head was beginning to spin.

"The _wizards_."

Ellie stared at her father, dumbfounded at what he'd just uttered, but it was nothing compared to what he said next.

"The evil Lord Dumbledore has taken your mother."

"WHAT!?!?" Ellie and Harry exclaimed loudly in unison.

Mr. Richards suddenly glanced at Harry, as if noticing him for the first time.

"Dad, where are you getting this from?"

"The news." Mr. Richards replied, not taking his eyes off of Harry. "Scotland Yard managed to capture one of the wizards after today's attack. After hours of interrogation he finally told everything. Who is this?" He pointed the cricket bat at Harry.

"Oh, this is Harry. He lives over on Privet Drive." Ellie explained quickly. "So, this wizard said that Dumbledore is responsible for these attacks?"

Before Ellie even knew what had happen, her father lunged forward and grabbed Harry's wand from his pocket. A small part of the handle must have been exposed for him to notice.

"I knew it!" Mr. Richards yelled. He was pointing the wand at Harry, as if it was a loaded gun. "I knew you were a wizard! You've come to take the rest of my family, haven't you? Well, I'm not going to let you!"

Ellie stared at her father in shock. He sounded like a raving lunatic, and his hands were shaking terribly.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding Mr. Richards." Harry said trying to remain calm, but Ellie could see the panic in his eyes.

Harry couldn't return to the magic world without his wand, and the portkey would be taking him back at any moment. There was only one plan that entered into Ellie's mind, and she didn't have time to think of a better one.

With little thought to what she was about to do, Ellie gave a swift kick to her father's shin. While her father was doubled over in pain, she snatched the wand out of his hand, and shoved it into Harry's.

"Go now. I'm safe here." She whispered to him.

Harry had only taken a few steps down the walk way when he disappeared.

Ellie let out a sigh of relief. When she turned to face her father he was staring wide eyed at the spot where Harry had just been.

"Get inside." He said in a frightened whisper, and pulled Ellie into the house.

The door slammed shut. Mr. Richards locked it, and took one more glance out the window to make sure that everything was safe before turning to his daughter.

All fear had vanished from his eyes, he was now looking furious. Ellie stood quietly by the stairs, waiting for her father's wrath to bear down on her.

"You lied about where you were going.....you had me worried sick.....and you let a wizard get away." Mr. Richards rested the cricket bat against the door. "I'm sure you were brainwashed or hypnotized, but I want you to go to your room until whatever spell you're under wears off."

Ellie didn't make any arguments, or even mention that she had acted under her own will. She had been expecting a much bigger punishment. As she walked upstairs she could hear her father limping into the living room.

Ellie flopped onto her bed, and buried her head in her pillow.

What is going on!?

It seemed the entire world had turned upside down in a matter of minutes. Her father was a complete wreck, her mother was missing, and Dumbledore was being blamed for it all.

"It's a set up. It has to be a set up." Ellie thought to herself. "No wizard would allow themselves to be captured by Scotland Yard, and expose the wizarding world. And only a Deatheater would be underhanded enough to give Dumbledore's name as his master's."

The more Ellie thought about it, the more she realized how cunning this plan was.

While the Ministry of Magic is occupied doing damage control with the muggle world, Voldemort and his Deatheaters have less eyes watching for them, and more freedom to wreck havoc. And if their plan is to create chaos in the muggle world, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to help without being attacked by the very people he is trying to protect.

Ellie then started to worry about her mother, and wondered why Dumbledore didn't tell her. Maybe he thought it would be better if she heard the news from her father. Or maybe he didn't know at that point in time. After all, he did mention that he was waiting for more information.

Ellie's mind continued to wander until she finally drifted off into sleep.

"Ellie, you can come down stairs! It's time for dinner!"

Ellie immediately awoke at the sound of her father's voice. As she got out of bed, it hit her. It was always her mother's voice that would call her for dinner. For the first time Ellie realized that her mother was really gone.

"It's true. It wasn't a nightmare after all."


	25. Return Fire

Chapter 25: Return Fire

The first thing Ellie noticed when she got downstairs was that there was six places set at the dining room table.

"Who are the extra plates for?" She asked her father when she entered the kitchen.

"Dennis is having a few friends over."

Ellie's stomach sank.

First, her mother was taken by the most evil wizard in the world, and now she had to put up with her brother's moronic friends.

At that moment, the phone rang. Ellie was surprised when her father handed her the receiver and said, "It's for you."

She hesitated before taking the phone, not sure who was going to be on the other end.

"Hello." Ellie said tentatively.

"Where on earth have you been? I've been worried sick! Are you alright?" Jo's voice blasted through the earpiece.

"I'm fine. At least I am at the moment." Ellie replied, glancing at her father who was watching her like a hawk.

"What do you mean?" Jo asked.

"Well, I'm kinda grounded."

"Grounded? For what?"

"For lying about where I was...amongst other things."

"What other things?"

"Like kicking my father in the shin." Ellie said, glancing at her father again.

"Why would you do a thing like that?"

"It's a long story."

With the tone in Ellie's voice, Jo could tell that her friend wasn't going to say anything more on the subject, and moved on to the most pressing question.

"So, where have you been? The last time I talked to you was when you called on Saturday, and you didn't tell me too much then."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you any more at the moment either."

"Why not?"

"Because my father is listening in on my conversation."

"Oh." Jo said, understanding Ellie's reluctance to disclose any details. "Well, I'll just ask you questions that require a yes or no answer. Did you meet any wizards?"

"Yes." Ellie replied, trying to sound like Jo had asked a different question.

"Did they hurt you?" Jo asked with concern.

"No."

"Where they nice?"

"Most of them."

"Hey, you didn't answer yes or no." Jo said in a jocular tone.

Ellie smiled, but suddenly she sensed that her father was standing directly behind her, a sure sign that it was time to get off the phone.

"Uh...Jo, I gotta go. My dinner is ready. I'll tell you everything on the bus tomorrow."

"Ellie, hasn't anyone told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Almost everything is shut down until there is a definite stop to these attacks, including schools."

"Oh." Ellie said in surprise. "Then I guess I'll talk to you when school starts again, or when I'm un-grounded, which ever happens first."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

Ellie had just sat down at the dinner table when Dennis, Malcolm, Piers, and Dudley came in.

Of course, Dudley sat right next to Ellie, making her evening even worse.

"So, where have you been?" Dennis bluntly asked.

Ellie remained silent.

"It doesn't matter where she's been. The important thing is that she is safe at home." Mr. Richards said diplomatically.

Dennis gave Ellie a suspicious look, but didn't question the matter any further.

"Where have you been?" Ellie returned the question to her brother.

"We've been patrolling the streets. No wizard is going to attack this town." Dennis said proudly, as if he were doing a great deed to society.

"Don't you think that's a bit dangerous?" Ellie asked.

"They're big, strong boys Ellie. They can look after themselves." Mr. Richards said through a mouth full of peas.

"But magic is magic. It doesn't matter how big or strong you are. A simple spell could turn them into a mouse...or even a pig. Don't you agree Dudley?"

Dudley turned very pale at the question being directed at him.

"Uhhh...umm...." He stammered.

"Well, we'll just have to punch the bugger out before he can do any hocus pocus on us." Dennis said in a macho tone.

"You know, your sister might have a point." Mr. Richards began. "Size doesn't matter when it comes to these freaks. I think you should stay in tonight, and no more patrols."

"But dad!"

"No buts! I don't want any more harm to come to this family."

The dinner table fell silent, and Dennis shot Ellie a loathsome glare.

Mr. Richards left the table early, so he could check the news for any more updates about the 'Wizard Crisis'. This left Ellie alone with the four boys.

"Hey Smelly Ellie, pass the potatoes." Dudley said rudely.

"Sure thing Dinky Duddiums." Ellie replied, pushing the bowl towards him.

Dudley turned red, as Dennis, Piers and Malcolm snickered.

"What did you call me?" Dudley asked through gritted teeth.

"Dinky Duddiums." Ellie casually replied. "I figured since you've been calling me 'Smelly Ellie' for so many years, I thought it was about time I gave you a nick name."

Dudley was looking very furious at Ellie.

"Well, if you don't like that one I could call you Ickle Dudleekins or Dudley Wudley or my favorite Popkin."

Ellie did her best not to burst into laughter, but Dennis and the others had far less control.

Dudley was now a shade of deep purple, and gave his three friends the most venomous glare he possibly could, which shut them up quickly.

Ellie was proud of her accomplishment, and figured that Dudley would never bother her again.

After clearing her plate away from the table, Ellie was on her way to her bedroom when she decided to stand in the hallway and listen to some of the newscast.

_"...schools and businesses have been closed, and a travel advisory has been placed on London and the surrounding area. The rest of the world is on high alert, after the captured assailant disclosed that wizards are spread out all over the world, not just localized in Great Brittan. However, London is the only city to fall prey to such horrid attacks."_

Ellie remained perfectly still, attentively listening to the reporter.

_"The whereabouts of the five missing people are still unknown..."_

Ellie could hear her father sigh in disappointment.

_"...Scotland Yard believes that they are still alive and being held captive by Lord Dumbledore, leader of the wizards, for reasons not yet determined. To recap, after this mornings attack it was discovered that a secret society of wizards are responsible. These wizards can blend in easily amongst normal people, and are to be considered dangerous. Currently the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Defense are discussing an appropriate course of action. We now turn to Edward Page for some breaking news."_

Ellie crept closer to the living room and poked her head in just enough to see the television.

_"Scotland Yard has just released a composite sketch of the person believed to be Lord Dumbledore's right hand man, Harry Potter."_

A black and white drawing of a young man with dark hair, glasses, and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead appeared on the screen. Ellie didn't think it was a very flattering picture. The nose was too long, and the shape of the face was all wrong, but it was a close enough likeness.

Mr. Richards furiously glared at his daughter, as if he knew she had been standing there the entire time.

Ellie took this as her cue to leave. She turned around, but was startled to find Dudley blocking the stairway.

"Could you excuse me please?" Ellie asked impatiently, keeping her voice low enough so her father couldn't hear.

"I know where you've been." Dudley said smugly, with the same volume of voice that Ellie had used.

"Good for you! Can you get out of my way now?" Ellie said more firmly, but Dudley didn't budge.

"I won't turn you into the police if you agree to go out with me."

"What?!" Ellie exclaimed. Suddenly aware of how loud she was, Ellie glanced towards the living room to see if her father had overheard, but there was no sign that he did.

"You just spent three days with the notorious Harry Potter. Scotland Yard would love to have a talk with you, but they won't if you just go on three dates with me."

"Are you really that thick?" Ellie asked with a slight laugh, which confused Dudley.

"Do you really think that you can threaten me when you're the one who is related to Harry, and has been living in the same house with him for the past fifteen years? And for the past six years, you've known that he was a wizard, which means that you could have gone to Scotland Yard yourself, and prevented all these attacks in the first place. You and both of your parents could be sent to jail for harboring a wizard."

It only took Dudley a few seconds to realize that Ellie had more to hold against him than he had against her. Slowly and quietly, he moved away from the stairs.

Ellie had only climbed five steps when she turned around.

"You know perfectly well that Harry has nothing to do with these attacks."

"Actually, I wouldn't put it past him." Dudley said coldly. "Do you know how many times he's tried to curse me?"

"Do you know how many times you've used him as a human punching bag?"

Dudley turned away, but Ellie wasn't finished.

"You deserved everything you got, from the four foot tongue to being trapped in the snake cage at the zoo."

Dudley's face turned beat red at the reminder of such awful memories.

"My cousin is a dangerous and unstable freak who needs to be locked away."

"He is not a freak!" Ellie snapped.

"Why do you even care?" Dudley asked, but suddenly his face went blank and his eyes widened. "You fancy him, don't you?" He said in astonishment.

Ellie could feel her face begin to blush.

"How on earth could you fall for someone like him?!"

"Because he is the exact opposite of you." Ellie remarked, and stormed off to her room.


	26. A Letter From An Owl

Chapter 26: A Letter From An Owl

It was long after sunset. Dudley, Piers, and Malcolm had left hours ago. Dennis was sulking in his room about not being allowed to go on tonight's street patrol. Mr. Richards was still in front of the television, sitting on the edge of the couch, waiting for any new information. Ellie spent the entire evening in her room. She attempted to read a book, but gave up once she realized it had taken her a half hour to get through one page. The day's events were far too distracting to get anything done. Now Ellie was laying on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her mind was racing with thoughts of the newscast, her time spent at Hogwarts and Harry. She thought a lot about Harry. She wondered if he had returned to Hogwarts safely, and if she'd ever see him again.

"Of course I'll see him again..." Ellie thought to herself, "...during the summer when he returns to the Dursley's house."

She missed him. She missed his smile, she missed his dark messy hair, and she especially missed getting lost in his deep green eyes.

BANG!

Ellie jolted upright, startled by what sounded like a firework going off.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The noise was coming from outside. Ellie glanced out her bedroom window, and saw several of her neighbors sitting outside with hunting riffles pointed towards the sky. A few more rounds went off.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ellie searched through the night sky, trying to see what her neighbors were shooting at. Finally, she spotted a white bird in the distance. As the bird flew closer, Ellie was able to determine that it was in fact an owl. Suddenly Ellie realized that it wasn't just any owl, it was Harry's owl, Hedwig, and she was heading straight for Ellie's bedroom window.

Ellie quickly threw the window open, as Hedwig continued to dodge the bullets being aimed at her. The snowy owl landed safely on Ellie's bed, looking very tired and flustered.

Ellie took the letter that was attached to Hedwig's leg, and read it immediately.

_Dear Ellie_

_I just wanted to let you know that I returned safely to Hogwarts. I also wanted to make sure that you're alright. Your father seemed to be really upset._

_Dumbledore has complete confidence that your mother and the other captives are still alive. Even at this very moment every single Auror and member of the Order are searching for them. Unfortunately, it is still unknown what Voldemort's motives are for taking these muggles. _

_I'll send you another letter when I have more information._

_Please send a reply with Hedwig so I know that you're alright._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry_

_P.S. Don't lose hope!_

After reading the letter Ellie felt relieved that Harry was safe. However, the letter didn't calm her fears about her mother's well being. Everyone seemed to think that her mother was still alive. But what if they were wrong? Ellie quickly pushed that thought aside, and pulled a piece of paper and pen out of her desk drawer.

_Dear Harry_

_I'm doing fine, considering everything that has happened. I just can't shake the felling that I'm never going to see my mum again._

_I apologize for my father's behavior. He's usually much more calm and pleasant to talk to. According to the muggle news, the entire world is in a panic, as I'm sure the magic world is too._

_I don't think it's safe to send Hedwig anymore. Several of my neighbors have taken up owl hunting, and she barely made it to my house in one piece._

_We'll need to find another way to communicate._

_Sincerely,_

_Ellie_

Ellie was reading over her letter, wondering if she needed to add anything else, when she heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

She quickly attached her letter to Hedwig's leg, and the owl immediately flew out of the room. After closing the window Ellie shoved Harry's letter under her pillow and sat down, opening her book just as someone knocked on her door.

"Come in!" Ellie said casually.

Mr. Richards stepped into the room, glancing around suspiciously.

"Mrs. Banks just called claiming that she saw an owl fly into your bedroom window."

"An owl?" Ellie said, giving her father a strange look.

"That's what she said." Mr. Richards continued to search the room, peering in the wardrobe.

"Dad, if an owl flew into my room I'd come running down the stairs screaming that there was an owl in my room. That didn't happen." Ellie maintained her serious manner.

Mr. Richard's eyes finally came to rest on his daughter.

"Well, just let me know if you see anything strange around the house."

Ellie nodded, and her father left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ellie had carefully locked the front door, just as her father had left it. She placed the spare key back under the rock, and was on her way. Dennis had gone to Malcolm's, where he would be spending the night. Mr. Richards had fallen asleep on the couch while watching the news. This gave Ellie the perfect opportunity to put her escape plan into action. She had even placed a few extra pillows under her covers to make it look like she was sleeping, just incase her father happen to check in on her.

It had only been two days since her mother went missing, but Ellie had grown too restless and impatient far too quickly. No new information had been released since Monday, and without having a way to contact Harry, Ellie was left in the dark.

By lunchtime Wednesday, Ellie had convinced herself that the magic world would have more information about her mother than the muggle news. Suddenly Ellie was obsessed with the idea of going back to Diagon Alley, and it was only a matter of hours until she secretively walked out the front door.

The fear of being attacked by wizards still lingered, but not enough to scare everyone away. The previous day Hundreds of thousands of Londoners went back to work despite all warnings from Scotland Yard and the Department of Defense. Apparently making money was more important than the threat of being killed by a wizard. Soon, public transit, banks and other businesses were opened to accommodate those who wished to work.

On the way to the tube station Ellie remained focused on the task before her. She didn't have any illusions of rescuing her mother, or even discovering where she was being held captive. All Ellie wanted was information, and that was all she was going to look for.


	27. Back Through The Brick Wall

Chapter 27: Back Through The Brick Wall

Ellie had never seen the streets of downtown London look so empty before, and it gave her an eerie feeling. Everyone who had gone to work that day had returned home hours ago, leaving the roads and sidewalks deserted.

After being discovered by muggles, Ellie had worried that the magic world would have increased all muggle defense charms. However, the fear of Voldemort's wrath was much stronger than the fear of harmless muggles, and Ellie was able to find the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in a matter of minutes. She grabbed the doorknob the second she saw it, took a deep breath, and walked inside. In a smooth fluid motion, Ellie draped herself with the closest cloak hanging on the rack, and proceeded to the back door. Not one person stopped her, or even questioned her presence. Once in the back alley Ellie released a sigh of relief. So far, everything was going to plan, but now she would have to face her first real obstacle, finding a way past the brick wall. Last time Ellie got into Diagon Alley by sheer luck. She glanced at the dark corner that once served as a hiding spot. Would it work again?

Ellie's heart stopped when she heard the squeak of the doorknob turning behind her. She turned around to see two figures walk through the door. There was no time to hide, and no way to escape. She was trapped.

The wizard and witch were in mid conversation when they entered the back alley. A tall, black wizard wearing one gold hoop earring, and a witch with a heart shape face and spiky magenta hair abruptly stopped talking, caught off guard by Ellie's presence.

In an instant Ellie began to put a plan into action. It wasn't as much as a plan, as it was the first thing that came to her mind.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" Ellie exclaimed in relief, running up to the two strangers.

"What seems to be the problem?" The spiky hair witch asked, still perplexed.

"I can't get through the wall. I think my little brother stole my wand again. He's always doing that."

"Where is your brother now?" The tall wizard asked.

"In Diagon Alley." Ellie replied.

"Alone?" The witch asked in alarm.

"No!" Ellie replied quickly. "My mother is with him."

"Shouldn't you be in school?" The wizard asked with suspicion.

Ellie froze. Her brain never had to create so many lies at once.

"Yes," she began slowly, "but my parents pulled me out for a couple of days to visit my grandfather in the hospital."

"What's wrong with your grandfather?" The wizard asked with more doubt than concern.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Ellie answered, glancing at the ground.

"So, why are you all by yourself?" He questioned further.

"I had to use the bathroom, and told my mum to go ahead without me."

"And she actually left you alone?" He asked in a horrified tone.

"I thought I had my wand on me!" Ellie defended herself.

"Come on Kingsley, just let her through." The witch pleaded in frustration.

"I haven't determined if she is trustworthy yet Tonks." Kingsley replied with clenched teeth.

"What, you think I'm a Deatheater?!?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"No." Kinsley replied definitely.

"Oh! Then, you must think that I'm another muggle trying to get a glimpse of the magic world." Ellie said casually.

"You heard about that?" He asked.

"I didn't have to hear about it, I saw it first hand." This was the first truthful thing Ellie had said throughout the entire conversation. "She was at Hogwarts for two days, hanging around with Harry, Ron and Hermione."

"Kingsley, she obviously isn't a muggle!" Tonks said in a persistent tone.

"Look, my mother is waiting for me, and she is probably worried sick by now. Please just open the wall for me." Ellie was even starting to believe the desperation in her voice.

After a few seconds, Kingsley reluctantly said "fine!" and Tonks quickly tapped a brick in the middle of the wall three times. Ellie immediately ran through the passageway, shouting "thank-you" over her shoulder.

Ellie got as far as Gringotts Bank before she stopped running. It was sheer luck that got her into Diagon Alley, and now that she was there, she had important business to tend to. The first thing in finding information about her mother and the other captive muggles was to find a newspaper.

Ellie glanced around the cobble stone pathway, making sure to examine every corner. There was nothing. No discarded papers on the ground, no dust bins to throw them out, no one reading anything, not even a newsstand to buy a paper from. If she didn't know any better, Ellie would have sworn that the wizarding world didn't have a newspaper. But she knew that one existed. She had seen Hermione reading a paper called the Daily Prophet just a few days ago. She even remembered Harry telling her about a woman by the name of Rita Skeeter, a former writer for the Daily Prophet, who interviewed him for the Triwizard tournament in his fourth year. Nevertheless, there certainly was no sign of any newspaper here.

Plan 'B' was to ask someone if they knew anything about the muggle abductions. However, Ellie didn't care much for this plan. With spies and untrustworthy people on the loose, it was certainly the most dangerous option. The last thing Ellie needed was to be kidnapped. Plus, talking to anyone in Diagon Alley would draw more attention to herself, and Ellie didn't want to take any chances of being discovered and getting her memory obliviated.

Before Ellie had time to think up another plan of action, she noticed the wizard and witch she had met in the back alley heading her way. Ellie quickly darted towards a dark corner and pulled the hood of the oversized cloak she was wearing, over her head. She quietly watched as the witch and wizard casually passed by. Ellie waited a moment longer to ensure that they had gone a good distance before lowering her hood.

"What on earth was I thinking?!" The familiar voice in the back of Ellie's head sharply asked.

"I'm here to make sure that mum is alright." Ellie whispered to herself. "I don't want to actually find her; I just want to know that she's okay."

She rested her head against the cold brick wall, frustrated with the situation. As Ellie tried to think of what to do next, she was caught off guard by the distant sound of footsteps coming from behind her. She turned to see that she hadn't been hiding in a dark corner, but in the entranceway of another alley. Ellie glanced up to read the decrepit sign that hung above her head, _"Knockturn Alley"_.

Unwelcoming was Ellie's first impression, but a sudden sense of curiosity and adventure began to brew inside of her.

"No! Absolutely not!" The voice said in alarm.

"If anyone is going to know anything about mum, someone in there will." Ellie tried to justify her thoughts.

She slowly crept along the brick wall, gradually making her way deeper into the alley, and going against everything the voice inside her head was saying.

"What exactly do you hope to accomplish by going in here, besides getting yourself killed?" The voice sternly asked.

Nevertheless, Ellie kept on walking.


	28. The Cloaked Figures

Chapter 28: The Cloaked Figures

The alley began to curve. Ellie inched forward, carefully peering at what was ahead. Several shops lined the walkway, all of them looking very dingy and unkempt. The path was virtually deserted except for two cloaked figures. Ellie pulled back quickly, hoping she hadn't been noticed. She remained perfectly still, straining her ears for the sound of approaching footsteps, but everything was silent. Ellie cautiously glanced around the corner again. The two figures were still there, standing in front of one of the shops, as if they were waiting for something. Or maybe they were guarding something, Ellie thought to herself. Maybe her mother was being held captive in there. Ellie heart leapt at the thought.

"But that would be too obvious." The voice in Ellie head stated. "The Aurors would surely been able to find her in such an accessible place."

The figures were standing with their backs to the door, the baggy hoods covering their faces. Just as Ellie decided it was best to return to Diagon Alley, four more hooded figures came from the opposite end of the alley, approaching the two other cloaked figures.

Ellie pressed her back to the stone wall, paying that she wouldn't be discovered.

"You're late." A voice said lowly.

"It couldn't be helped. There are Aurors every where." Another voice replied.

"We shouldn't even be meeting here." A nervous voice added.

"Would you go against the Dark Lord's wishes?" The first voice asked.

"No, it's just that it's not safe."

"Are you sure it's going to work this time?" Some one asked with an impatient tone.

"There is no way of knowing until it's done."

"Well, I have a good feeling about these muggles; much more feisty than the last lot."

Ellie felt her insides go numb at mention of muggles. These people knew where her mother was.

"Lets get going before were spotted."

Ellie heard the sound of a door opening, and she cautiously looked around the corner. One by one, the cloaked figures entered the shop they had been standing in front of. Without even thinking about what she was doing, Ellie waited for the last person to enter the store, then ran through the door just as it was closing. The cloaked figures continued towards the back of the store while Ellie ducked behind a large table covered with strange artifacts. She was able to keep an eye on the figures between a jar full of bat wings and a candle labeled "poison". However, Ellie wasn't able to see what was happening due to a large gothic armor obstructing half of her view. After a few seconds Ellie could hear each person say "the cottage", followed by a swooshing noise and a dull green light. Soon they were all gone, and Ellie was left alone in the store.

After a few seconds, Ellie slowly emerged from her hiding spot. She cautiously walked to the back of the shop. Sure enough, there was a fireplace and not a soul around. Ellie notice a black leather sack hanging on a nail on the fireplace mantel. Just as she expected, the bag was half-full of floo powder. Ellie reached in and grabbed a small hand full. She silently stared at the fine, glittering powder in her cupped hand.

_"What do you think you're doing?!?!" _The voice in the back of her mind shouted.

Ellie had told herself numerous times that she was only going to the magic world to get information about her mother, not actually go looking for her. She wanted to keep herself out of trouble, and now she was already in way over her head. Ellie placed the handful of powder back into the leather sac, and headed for the door. She turned the knob, but it didn't budge. After several moments of frantically looking for a way to unlock the door, Ellie came to the realization that it had been locked by magic. Once again, she was trapped.

Ellie glanced around the store in a panic. She needed to find a way out. Without thinking, she grabbed an iron spiked helmet that was sitting on a near by table, and threw it at the storefront window. Ellie braced herself for the loud noise of shattering glass, but all she heard was the clanging of the helmet hitting the concrete floor. Of course, there was an unbreakable charm placed on the windows. Ellie let out a loud groan in frustration.

"Is there no way to get out of this cursed shop?!?" She yelled to herself.

Realizing that shouting wasn't going to accomplish anything, Ellie began to take some slow, deep breaths to calm herself down. Now thinking with a clear mind, Ellie realized that she had two options. She could either wait until the cloaked figures returned (but who knows how long that would be?), or she could go through the fireplace. Ellie stared towards the back of the store at the fireplace, as if expecting an answer to her problems to emerge. Suddenly, Ellie was struck with the most obvious solution. Hogwarts! She could use the floo powder to take her to Hogsmeade, then find Harry and tell him everything she knew. Just the idea of seeing Harry again gave Ellie the confidence to proceed with this plan. She dipped her hand in the bag full of powder, and threw a fist full into the fireplace. Without hesitation, Ellie stepped in amongst the green flames and said, in a clear voice, "Hogsmeade!".

Nothing happened. Ellie glanced down, and saw that the flames had gone out. She took another hand full of powder, a bit bigger than the last, and threw it into the fireplace. Once again the flames shot up a bright green, and once again Ellie stepped in and said Hogsmeade. But as soon as the word came out of her mouth, the flames would extinguish themselves. Ellie looked at the fireplace in bafflement.

"Why isn't this working?" She asked out loud.

The only plausible answer that came to Ellie's mind was that the cloaked people might have place a spell on the fireplace, sealing it off, preventing anyone from following. However, there was only one way to find out for sure.

Ellie threw in another fist full of floo powder and said loudly "the cottage!".


	29. The Potion

Chapter 29: The Potion

Ellie began to feel sick to her stomach for two reasons. One was the cause of the rapid movement from traveling through the floo network, and the other was because Ellie realized she had made a terrible mistake. After passing over a hundred fireplaces, Ellie came to an abrupt halt. She fell face forward, and scraped her palms on the rough surface.

Ellie stood up, brushing the dirt off her hands and clothes, but suddenly stopped. Something wasn't right.

It was pitch black. The soft breeze on her face and the sound of rustling leaves around her told Ellie that she was outside. The thin wisp of cloud gradually parted, revealing a three-quarter moon, providing Ellie just enough light to see her surroundings.

Glancing behind, Ellie could make out the silhouette of an old stone fireplace amongst the thicket of trees. But why would there be a fireplace in the middle of a forest? Taking a closer look around, Ellie realized that she was standing in the middle of a tiny wooden cottage. The roof and most of the walls had decayed from years of neglect. Luckily, for Ellie, there was absolutely no sign of the cloaked figures. Everything seemed to be eerily quiet. Looking back at the fireplace Ellie was suddenly struck with the feeling of panic. She didn't have any floo powder to get back to London, and there wasn't a bag or jar around either. Just as Ellie's anxiety was reaching its climax, a blood-curdling scream filled the night air. Ellie darted around trying to determine the origin of the scream. She began to wander towards the source of the horrifying sound, passing through the skeleton of a doorway. It sounded like a male voice, but who ever it was, he was in excruciating pain. After several seconds, the screaming finally stopped, but Ellie continued on. In the far distance, she could see a dull light casting ridged shadows on the tree trunks. The trees began to thin out, and Ellie could now see the outline of a low mountain range in the distance. She kept her focus straight ahead. The forest came to an end, and the source of the light was revealed. A copper lantern was hanging on a rusted hook at an entrance of a cave. As Ellie carefully crept into the cave, she could see lanterns mounted along the uneven cave wall, and heard voices echoing in the distance.

Ellie moved slowly, trying not to make a sound. The voices grew louder. Just ahead, she could see that the cave floor ended. There was a steep twenty-foot drop down to the cavern below. Quickly glancing around, Ellie saw to her right a pathway that spiraled along the stone wall, leading to the landing below. On her left was a wide ledge with several large rocks. It was the perfect place for her to hide, and safely watch everything below. Crouching down, Ellie peered over the rocks. Below were eleven cloaked figures, all with their hoods up, except one. The one with the lowered hood caught Ellie's eye right away. His complexion was deathly white, and his eyes were a vibrant scarlet. Ellie could feel a deep chill throughout her entire body. There was no mistaking the evil Lord Voldemort from the description Harry had given. Voldemort was busy talking to three of his Deatheaters, but Ellie was too far out of earshot to make out the conversation. Three other Deatheaters were busy throwing various liquids and powders into a giant silver cauldron, while four others were kneeling next to several crates covered in various jars and bottles, carefully measuring the contents.

Glancing down to her left, Ellie then noticed some sort of clear bubble protruding from the cave wall. In that bubble was Ellie's mother, looking very tired and scared. Sitting with her mother were four other captives. Ellie's heart began to race. Her mother was still alive.

"The mix is ready my Lord." One of the Deatheaters announced.

Ellie looked at the cauldron, which was now bubbling with a thick green liquid.

"Good! You may now add the final ingredient." Voldemort replied his voice was cold and snake like.

The Deatheater gave a low bow, and proceeded towards the large bubble. Using his wand, the Deatheater made a door-like slit into the bubble's smooth surface. All the captives, including Ellie's mother cringed in fear and inched backwards, trying to gain as much distance from the Deatheater as possible.

"You!" The Deatheater pointed to a thin young woman, with her blond hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. The woman began to whimper, and looked to the other captives for protection, but all they could do was watch helplessly as the woman was dragged out of the prison. The Deatheater then flung the woman over his shoulder.

"Please! No! Please don't do this!" The woman screamed as she squirmed in the Deatheater's grip.

Ellie couldn't understand why the Deatheater didn't use magic to subdue the woman; it would have made things easier.

Then Ellie heard the sound of taunting laughter coming from the other Deatheaters. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach, as she realized why the Deatheaters didn't use magic. They enjoyed watching the woman struggle. They took pleasure in hearing her scream in terror, as she was carried closer to the cauldron.

Ellie watched in horror as the Deatheater held the woman precariously over the boiling liquid. The woman was no longer squirming, but tears were streaming down her face. Without warning, the Deatheater dropped her into the cauldron. The woman gave only a tiny yelp before her head was completely emerged in the green goo.

The contents of the cauldron gradually changed from an olive green colour to a puke brown.

A second Deatheater stepped forward, holding a pewter goblet encrusted with emeralds. After filling the goblet to the brim, the Deatheater then presented it to his master.

"It is ready my Lord."

Voldemort took the goblet with both hands and stared at it coldly.

"Avery, come here!" Voldemort commanded.

"Y-yes my Lord." The Deatheater stepped forward, lowered his hood, and nervously bowed.

"Drink this." Voldemort hissed, handing Avery the cup.

Even from twenty feet above, Ellie could see the terror in Avery's eyes. He took the goblet with shaky hands, and fearfully stared into it.

"DRINK IT!"

Avery jumped at his master's demand, spilling a few drops. Still looking terrified, the Deatheater took a deep breath, and downed the potion in one gulp.

The cave fell completely silent. Everyone was tense with anticipation, waiting for something to happen. A minute went by, and still nothing. Just as Avery started to relax, his face suddenly contorted, and his body began to shake.

An agonizing scream filled the cave; similar to the one Ellie had heard in the forest. The scream continued to grow louder, and soon Ellie found herself covering her ears. The Deatheaters had no reaction to what was happening. They didn't seem to care at all.

Finally the noise stopped. Avery's body fell heavily to the ground. After a moment, Voldemort approached the body, and kicked it ruthlessly. Avery was dead.

"I'm running out of time and patience!" Voldemort yelled. "Do it again! This time less Ashwinder eggs."

Without a moment's hesitation, the Deatheaters dispersed. Three began to measure ingredients at the crates, while two others carried the cauldron to the edge of the cavern, directly below where Ellie was hiding.

Ellie slowly peered over the rocks, fully exposing her head. The Deatheaters were dumping the contents of the cauldron on to, what looked to be, a pile of human bones. When Ellie saw the skeleton of the woman who had been thrown into the cauldron tumble out, she realized that they in fact _were_ human bones, remnants from the previous failed attempts. The two Deatheaters, who were carrying Avery's body, threw it next to the pile of bones where two other cloaked figures sat slumped against the stone wall. Obviously, Voldemort wasn't stupid enough to be the first person to test a potion.

Ellie's ears suddenly perked up at the sound of something moving behind her. Before she could turn around, someone grabbed her, and covered her mouth, preventing her from screaming.


	30. The Silver Paw Rat

Chapter 30: The Silver Paw Rat

Ellie whipped around and found herself staring into a familiar pair of brilliant green eyes. Her heart leapt for joy as she flung her arms around Harry.

"I'm so glad you're here." She whispered in relief.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Harry asked sternly, pulling out of the embrace.

"I wanted to make sure that my mum was alright, and I kind of accidentally found my way here." Ellie replied. "Are you feeling alright Harry? You don't look well." She commented.

Harry was looking very drawn and uncomfortable.

"I'm fine." He replied shortly.

"How do you accidentally find your way to the secret hideout of the most evil wizard alive?" Asked Ron, who was crouched next to Harry.

"Pretty much the same way I accidentally landed in Hogsmeade." Ellie responded curtly.

"It's way too dangerous for you to be here." Harry said earnestly.

"Dangerous for me? What about you? You've got to be crazy to waltz into your arch-enemy's hideout with just your two best friends."

"Says the muggle with absolutely no way of defending herself." Ron scoffed.

"Would you mind leaving my moronic decisions out of the conversation for two minutes?" Ellie testily asked Ron.

"Stop it, both of you. Besides we're not here by choice, believe me." Harry said gravely.

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked.

At the same time, both Harry and Ron glanced over Ellie's right shoulder, to where a very grief stricken Hermione was peering over the rocks. Before Ellie could ask what was going on, Hermione spoke.

"Both of my parents are being held captive." She said with a slight sob.

Ellie remained silent. She knew exactly what Hermione was going through, except Hermione had both of her parents to worry about. Ellie peered over the edge and looked down at the cage like bubble.

"They're the ones dressed in the dentist uniforms, sitting next to the lady in the floral dress." Hermione said, sadly gazing down.

"Oh. My mum is the one in the floral dress sitting next to the couple in the dentist uniforms." Ellie said with a small grin.

They all sat quietly, watching the activities below.

"What are they doing?" Ellie asked as she watched three Deatheaters measure out ingredients and pour them into the cauldron.

"Voldemort is trying to make a de-muggleizing potion." Harry answered.

"What?" Ellie asked in bafflement.

"Remember when I told you about Voldemort's hatred for his father and all muggles?"

"Yes."

"Well, he's trying to create a potion that will remove all the muggle blood from him, making him a pure-blood." Harry paused. "He sees his muggle blood as a weakness, and believes that if he was a pure-blood he would be a more powerful wizard. What he doesn't understand is that your blood line doesn't affect how powerful a wizard you are."

"Ironically, you need a muggle to make a de-muggleizing potion." Hermione added.

"It doesn't make any sense why anyone would go through all that trouble if it wasn't necessary." Ellie said shaking her head.

"He's an evil psychopathic wizard, nothing he does makes any sense." Ron quipped.

"But, why isn't the potion working?" Ellie asked.

"It's a very complicated potion that involves the most precise measurements. It's also a potion that only works in theory. No one has ever attempted to make it before." Hermione said.

"So, what do we do now?" Ron asked.

"I think we should go get some help." Ellie suggested.

"No. We need to rescue them now." Hermione spoke with determination.

"Are you absolutely mental?" Ellie asked incredulously. "There are ten of them down there, and only three of you. Plus, they are far more skilled and ruthless then you are. The odds are definitely not in your favour."

"Ellie, at this very moment they are making another batch of that potion, which means that they'll need to use another muggle. Now, there are only four muggles left, and three of them are our parents, so the odds aren't in our favour there either. If we had time to get help we would, but unfortunately we don't." Hermione was on the verge of tears.

Ellie hated to admit the fact that Hermione was right.

"So, do you guys have a plan, or are you hoping that they'll just let us walk down there and take our parents without saying a word?" Ellie asked sarcastically.

"Well, it's obvious that they out number us, but may be we could find a way to distract them." Harry began to think out loud.

"But there is only one way in and out of the cave." Ron commented.

"Harry, are you sure you're alright?" Ellie asked again.

She had notice Harry rub his scar a few times and tiny beads of sweat were trickling down his face.

"Yes! I'm fine!" Harry said definitively.

Harry, Ron and Hermione continued to discuss a suitable course of action, when out of the corner of her eye, Ellie noticed something move.

Sitting very still at the top of the ramp was a scrawny grey rat. The rat seemed to be staring at them, as if it understood every word they were saying. However, there was something else about the rat that struck Ellie as being extremely odd.

"That's strange. It looks like that rat over there has a silver paw." Ellie commented.

The trio abruptly stopped their conversation and followed Ellie's gaze to where the rat was sitting.

"We have to leave, now!" Harry said urgently. "It's Wormtail."

"What?" Ellie asked not understanding what Harry was talking about, but before she got an answer, the rat transformed into a short, stout man with a metallic silver hand.

Ellie was too shocked to scream. Harry was the first one to draw his wand, but the second he had it out the wizard hit him with a disarming charm. Harry's wand landed five feet away from the cave entrance. The grubby looking wizard suddenly shouted "Intruders!" at the top of his lungs. Hermione and Ron began to fire several spells and hexes. With four loud cracking sounds, four Deatheaters suddenly appeared before them.

One of them had the unfortunate luck of apperating directly in the path of Hermione's petrifying spell.

Spells were flying around in every which direction. Ellie quickly ducked as a red ball of light just barely missed the top of her head. She looked up to see Hermione block one spell successfully, but only to get hit by another that was heading for her at the exact same time. Hermione's wand went soaring in the air, landing at Wormtail's feet. Ellie glanced over at Ron, who was wearing a defeated expression. He had already lost his wand, but Ellie wasn't sure how. The cave was now silent. The battle was over, and they had lost.

For the first time Ellie had the chance to take a good look at the four Deatheaters who appeared. The one farthest from her had long platinum blond hair, with cold piercing eyes that were carefully examining Harry's wand. There was no need for anyone to tell Ellie who it was; the resemblance was uncanny. It was Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's father. The next two Deatheaters both had similar features, except one was stockier than the other was. The final Deatheater was the only woman in the group. Her dark heavy lidded eyes had absolutely no emotion behind them, which gave Ellie chills down her spine.

"Well, well, well…What do we have here?" Lucius said stepping forward. "Shouldn't all of you be safe at your precious Hogwarts with your precious Dumbledore protecting you?"

"Shouldn't you be rotting in Azkaban?" Harry rudely retorted back.

"Yes." Lucius smiled. "But fortunately for me the security at Azkaban isn't what it use to be." He said smugly.

"Why are there only three wands? Where is the fourth one?" The thinner of the two dark haired men asked, glancing at the two wands in the metallic hand and the extra one that Lucius had.

"That one didn't have a wand." Wormtail said pointing at Ellie.

"Oh, this must be that muggle I've heard so much about. Ellie, is it?" Lucius asked maliciously.

"A muggle in my presence?!" The woman suddenly raged.

"Why should that bother you? Voldemort is half muggle." Harry curtly stated.

"That's not going to work on me this time Potter." The woman sneered. "I thought you would have learned last time how dangerous it is for you to play hero, or do you have to lose another one of your loved ones to learn your lesson?"

The woman pointed her wand at the group the exact same time Harry stood up. Ron, Hermione and even Ellie tried to restrain him.

"Bellatrix, don't." Lucius said in a warning tone.

"Let him go! Let's see how brave he thinks he is." Bellatrix coaxed, not paying any attention to Lucius.

"Bellatrix, you know you can't hurt him. That is for the Dark Lord to do." Lucius stated.

After a moment, Bellatrix reluctantly lowered her wand. She looked like she was pondering something.

"I think it's time we go see the Dark Lord then." She cruelly smiled.

Bellatrix raised her wand again. Three ropes shot out from the tip, and wrapped tightly around Harry, Ron and Hermione, pinning their arms to their sides.

"What about the muggle?" The stocky wizard asked.

"I wouldn't worry about her. What's she going to do? Run?" Lucius scoffed.

Ellie kept her eyes down, as she was lead along the narrow spiral path that protruded crudely from the cave wall, leading to the cavern floor. She didn't want to look at the cold and pitiless expressions on the other Deatheater's faces as she made her way down.

"Eleanor!" Mrs. Richards screamed in a panicked horror.

Ellie glanced up at the bubble that was near the bottom of the ramp, where her mother was being held inside. She couldn't shake the terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Hermione!" Mr. and Mrs. Granger yelled in shock at their daughter's presence.

All three parents had their hands pressed to the bubble's interior, and watched helplessly as their daughters were led across the cavern floor.

"A family reunion, how sweet." The cold, high pitch voice of Voldemort spoke.

Ellie, Ron and Hermione were led to one side of the cavern, while Harry was taken to Voldemort.

"What do I owe this visit Potter?" Voldemort asked in a slightly amused tone. "A failed attempt at a surprise attack? Trying to spy on me? Or are you just doing a favour for one of your friends that will only end up getting you all killed?"

Harry didn't respond, and kept his eyes fixed to the ground.

"Your Occlumency abilities aren't as strong as you think they are." The Dark Lord taunted. "You have information I want. Give it to me!"

Without warning Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry and shouted "Crucio!".

Harry began to shake in agony. The Deatheaters began to laugh, and they laughed even harder when Harry's knees buckled beneath him.

Ellie had the overwhelming feeling of wanting to do something, wanting to make it all stop. She glanced at Ron and Hermione, who helplessly watched on. Ellie looked back to Harry who was trembling harder.

"Fighting only makes it worse Potter!" Voldemort bellowed.

Ellie's panic dramatically increased. She had to make him stop, but how?

"A diversion or distraction." The voice inside her head shouted.

Her eyes began to dart around the cave, searching for ideas. Finally, she saw it. The hilt of Harry's wand was sticking out of Lucius Malfoy's pocket. Without a second though Ellie grabbed the wand, pointed it at Voldemort and screamed "Expelliarmus!".

A small dull scarlet ball of light emerged from the tip of the wand, and hit the back of Voldemort's hand. The yew wand fell to the ground, rolling only two feet away from where Voldemort was standing.


	31. A Magic They Knew Not

Chapter 31: A Magic They Knew Not

The entire cavern fell silent. All eyes were focused on Ellie.

"I thought she was a muggle!" Voldemort venomously spat.

"I-I thought…I was told…she..." Lucius stammered.

"Enough!" The Dark Lord commanded.

Ellie remained frozen, still holding Harry's wand, as Voldemort's cold red eyes narrowed in on her. After a moment of consideration, Voldemort spoke.

"She may be exactly what we need." He said icily. "Prepare the potion!"

"NO!" Mrs. Richards screamed in terror.

Lucius had only grabbed Ellie by the back of her neck, when several wizards apparated in the cave without warning. Various spells began to fly in every direction. The second Lucius loosened his grip Ellie ducked out of the way, and crawled to the edge of the cavern. She watched as the outnumbered Deatheaters vainly attempted to fight back.

A stray spell hit a spot on the cave wall just three feet above Ellie's head, creating a small avalanche of rubble. Ellie shielded her head as the tiny rocks fell on her.

"Ellie, are you alright?" Harry asked urgently, rushing to her side.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ellie replied, brushing the rock dust from her hair. "How are you? I thought he was going to kill you."

"I'm alright." Harry said dismissively.

Ellie glanced around the cavern, and saw that things were different.

The spells and hexes were no longer flying around. Dumbledore was standing in the center of the cavern, next to a group of bound Deatheaters, two of which were Lucius Malfoy, and Wormtail. Voldemort was nowhere in sight, nor was Bellatrix. The large bubble was also gone. Hermione and Ron, no longer tied up, were now walking towards Ellie and Harry.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"We're both fine." Harry replied.

"What exactly happened?" Ellie asked. "It all went by so fast."

"You mean after you hit Voldemort with a disarming charm?" Ron asked.

"How did you do it Ellie? Muggles aren't supposed to be able to do magic." Hermione stated.

"I don't know. I'm just a baffled as you are." Ellie replied.

"Well, the Order showed up and started capturing Deatheaters right, left and centre." Ron began. "Unfortunately, half of them disapparated, including Voldemort. I thought it was odd though. I figured he would have put up more of a fight."

"He wasn't ready." Harry said in a distant voice.

Ellie, Ron and Hermione all stared at him blankly.

"Is everyone alright over here?" A man with tattered robes and greying brown hair asked as he approached.

"Yes, we're fine Prof. Lupin."

"Ron, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a professor any more?"

"Sorry."

"And you must be Ellie." Lupin said extending his hand.

"I am." Ellie said, shaking the former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's hand. "Harry has told me a lot about you."

"Has he?" Lupin replied, glancing at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"How did you even know where to find us?" Harry asked Lupin, trying to change the subject.

Lupin hesitated a bit before replying.

"A few months ago Dumbledore placed a locating charm on your wand Harry."

"A locating charm?" Harry asked, his tone sounding slightly upset.

"We were having difficulty predicting Voldemort's actions, and were worried that he might capture you, or lure you away from Hogwarts."

"Like he has in the past?" Harry said annoyed

"Harry, calm down." Hermione said sternly.

"All you had to do was use your wand once, and we would be able to locate your precise whereabouts." Lupin explained. "If you hadn't used your wand tonight, we wouldn't have had any idea even where to begin our search."

"But I didn't use my wand." Harry said earnestly.

"What do you mean?" Lupin asked in confusion.

Ellie suddenly realized that she was still holding Harry's wand in her hand, and promptly returned it to him.

Lupin's eyes quickly darted back and forth between Harry and Ellie.

"I thought she was a muggle." He finally stated.

"I am." Ellie replied, sounding a bit unsure of the answer.

"How is that even possible?" Lupin asked.

"I don't know, but I know someone who might." Harry commented, and began walking towards Dumbledore.

Ellie was about to follow him when someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a suffocating hug.

"I thought I was going to lose you!" Mrs. Richards sobbed.

"I missed you too mum." Ellie replied, hugging back.

Glancing over her mother's shoulder, Ellie saw that both Ron and Hermione were being embraced by both of their parents as well.

"Excuse me Mrs. Richards," Lupin intervened, "but there are mediwizards waiting to ensure that you're well enough to go home."

This was the perfect time for Ellie to join Harry in his conversation with Dumbledore. She glanced back and saw that they weren't finished yet.

"Ellie, you should probably come too." Lupin added.

"I'll be right there. I just have something to check first." Ellie said letting go of her mother. She was extremely anxious to get some answers.

Ellie turned around and found two figures blocking her path. It was the witch and wizard who had let her into Diagon Alley. Both of them had very stern expressions fixed on their faces.

"I see you've found your mother." Kingsley commented in a casual manner.

"Yes, I did." Ellie replied uneasily.

"Where is your little brother?" Tonks asked, with the same tone as Kingsley.

"You know, it's the strangest thing, it turns out I don't have one." Ellie said with a nervous chuckle.

The two Aurors simply continued to stare her down with narrowed eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry –"

"We know what you did." Kingsley interrupted.

"Quite frankly, if I was in your position, I would have done the exact same thing." Tonks winked.

Kingsley glared at her.

"Well, I would have." Tonks said defensively.

"Excuse me." Ellie said hastily.

Harry had finished his conversation with Dumbledore, and was now heading her way.

"So, what did he say?" Ellie anxiously asked.

"Let's talk over here." Harry said, pointing to a quiet corner of the cavern.

Ellie was taken off guard by Harry's calm demeanour. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad sign.

Once they were away from the rest of the action, Harry just stood quietly facing Ellie.

"What!?" Ellie asked impatiently. She felt like she was going to burst from the anticipation.

"There is an ancient magic that resides in all beings, including muggles." Harry began slowly. "Usually it's not powerful enough to perform magic spells, unless it's in its purest and truest form."

"I don't understand." Ellie said, baffled.

"It's actually the same magic that saved my life when I was a baby." Harry was now staring deep into Ellie's eyes.

Ellie could feel her knees begin to weaken, and the butterflies in her stomach became increasingly erratic.

"It's love Ellie." Harry finally blurted out. "You love me so much; it was strong enough to make a magic spell work."

Ellie suddenly felt her entire body go numb. She had never had her deepest emotions so exposed before. In fact, she hadn't even been aware of what her true feelings were for Harry until this very moment.

"And do you want to know something?" Harry asked, inching closer and taking Ellie's hand.

"What?" Ellie's voice squeaked from the overflow of butterflies.

"I love you too."

Harry pulled Ellie closer and tenderly kissed her on the lips. As nervous and elated as Ellie was, she somehow found the ability to kiss back. It wasn't awkward as some first kisses can be. To Ellie it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

It seemed like they had been kissing for an eternity, but when they finally pulled apart, both thought that the moment had ended too soon.

Movement from the corner of her eye suddenly disrupted her attention.

She turned to see that Harry and she had attracted a small audience.

Lupin had a blank expression on his face, not sure what to say. Dumbledore was smiling with his trademark twinkle in his eye. Ron had a big grin on his face, while Hermione was busy holding his hands apart, preventing him from applauding. Mrs. Richards stood quietly with her jaw gaping in shock.

"It's time to go." Dumbledore simply stated.

Harry gave a slight nod.

Ellie now found herself staring into the same brilliant green eyes she had fallen in love with at first sight.

"It's time for you to go home." Harry said softly.

Ellie tried her best to keep the tears back, but it was no use. She didn't want to leave Harry, but she also knew she couldn't stay with him.

Ellie gave Harry a final hug good bye before going to her mother. She had wanted to say something, but the lump in her throat prevented her from doing so.

"I have asked Mr. Weasley to make sure you both return home safely." Dumbledore informed Ellie and Mrs. Richards.

He then gestured a small wave to Mr. Weasley, who was standing on the other side of the cavern, talking to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Ellie noticed that Mrs. Weasley was taking care of explaining everything that happened to the other muggle captive.

When Mr. Weasley had reached them, Dumbledore handed him a grungy paper cup.

"How will we get home?" Mrs. Richards timidly asked.

"By this." Mr. Weasley replied, holding up the paper cup.

"I don't understand." Mrs. Richards said in confusion.

"Just grab hold and hang on tight." Ellie smiled, taking hold of a small portion of the rim with her thumb and forefinger.

Mrs. Richards hesitated before doing the same.

"We'll be landing in your backyard. Even though the muggle world knows about us, there's no point in startling anyone." Mr. Weasley winked. "And we have five seconds." He said, glancing at his watch.

"But I still don't understand how this thing is going to get us home." Mrs. Richards said, but just as she finished, Ellie felt the familiar sensation of being pulled forward by her navel.

The hard grass stopped them very abruptly. Both Ellie and her mother fell to the ground. Mr. Weasley, who had remained standing, helped them up.

"I don't think I liked that one bit." Mrs. Richards commented, holding her abdomen.

Ellie knew her mother had a weak stomach for thrill rides, which is why she didn't tell her how the portkey worked.

Mrs. Richards looked up at the back of her house, and began to weep. After the ordeal she had been through, Ellie didn't blame her. To have your life in jeopardy, believe that you'd never see your family again, without even a chance to say good-bye, and then suddenly find yourself standing in your own backyard; it would be an overwhelming experience for anyone.

"Are you going to be alright?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Yeah, we're going to be just fine." Ellie replied.

"Well, it was nice meeting the two of you." Mr. Weasley said politely. "I'm sorry it couldn't be under better circumstances."

"It was very nice to meet you too." Ellie smiled.

With a loud crack, Mr. Weasley vanished.

"Come on mum," Ellie said hugging her mother, "let's go inside."


	32. Alas, Home At Last

Chapter 32: Alas, Home At Last

Ellie had never seen her parents look so overjoyed to see each other before. Her father had almost fainted when her and her mother walked through the door. Dennis had just stood there with his jaw dropped. Once all emotions had calmed down, Mrs. Richards was ready to tell her story.

She began to tell how several cloaked figures appeared out of thin air in the middle of the street, while she was on her coffee break. Some how, through all the commotion, she was knocked unconscious, and woke up in a strange cage like bubble with seven other people. She then painfully described how she watched each person, one by one, be dropped into the cauldron, only to be dumped out as a pile of bones. She began crying again, when she admitted her fear of never seeing her family again, and not having the chance to say good-bye.

Not once did Mrs. Richards mention Ellie's involvement, and Ellie didn't bother to mention it either. It would have only upset her father even more. Besides, Ellie was sure that even though her mother had seen it with her own eyes, she still didn't believe that her daughter performed a real magic spell.

Mr. Richards was the one who notified Scotland Yard about his wife's return. Only five minutes after the police arrived, the reporters showed up.

Again, Ellie stood in the background as her mother was pelted with questions such as, "How did you escape?", "Did you fear for your life?", and "Are you happy to be home?". Ellie thought that most of the answers would be extremely obvious, but the reporters asked anyways. Mrs. Richards, who looked very overwhelmed, did her best to answer every single question. It was 2:00am when the press had gone, and the Richards family finally went to bed.

The next morning Ellie watched the dozens of interviews of her mother, the Grangers and the other captive, whose name turned out to be Mike McNish.

The phone continuously rang throughout the day. Family, friends and neighbours, all wanted to talk to Karen Richards, the woman who survived the wizards spell. By early afternoon, Mrs. Richards had made arrangements to appear on the six o'clock news with the other surviving captives.

Ellie remained at home, while her parents and brother went to the television station. She would have liked to go, but she was worried that Mike McNish would recognize her from the cave, and then Ellie would have to reveal her side of the story. However, it had taken a lot more persuading than Ellie had anticipated. Her mother had been very understanding, but her father was adamant that they all go together as a family. Ellie firmly stood her ground, and after two hours of arguing, Mr. Richards finally gave in.

Ellie sat quietly on her bed, with her back flat against the wall, and an opened shoebox in her lap. The shoebox contained two Chocolate Frog cards, a half-eaten box of Berti-Bott's every flavoured beans, one liquorice wand, and the Galleon, Sickle and Knut she had put aside. Ellie had found these items in her coat pocket the day after she arrived home from Hogwarts. She stared blankly at the contents, her mind distracted by the memory of a boy with beautiful green eyes. As Ellie's mind continued to drift, another memory floated by. It was a memory that could have been very easily overlooked by Ellie in amongst vivid images of Harry. It was in the form of a very soft voice, no louder than a whisper.

"_It's almost like you're suppose to be here…"_

It was Hermione's voice, spoken in the girl's lavatory.

All thoughts of Harry were momentarily pushed aside, as Ellie became transfixed with this phrase. Was she really supposed to be there? And if so, for what purpose?

Harry! The answer came without hesitation. She was there for Harry. She had even saved his life. Soon the romantic thoughts of love at first sight, and soul mates discovering each other clouded her mind.

"How can anyone fall in love so fast?" Ellie asked her empty room.

Ellie did love Harry, and she didn't need the ability to perform a magic spell to tell her that. She could feel it in every bone in her body.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Ellie's heart jumped into her throat at the sudden noise. She looked over at her bedroom window and saw Hedwig perched on the ledge. Ellie quickly opened the window and Hedwig flew right in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Hedwig, but there wasn't any gunfire to announce your arrival." Ellie joked, as she untied the letter from the snowy owl's leg. At once, Hedwig flew out the window, not bothering to wait for a reply. Judging by the messy writing, Ellie could tell that Harry wrote this letter very hastily.

_Dear Ellie,_

_What ever you do, don't watch any television, or listen to the radio. Also, you must not drink any tap water or eat anything that contains tap water. I don't have time to explain further. Just trust me._

_Love Harry_

Ellie stared blankly at the letter. It was such a strange warning; no television, radio or water. The first two didn't seem so bad since Ellie almost never listened to the radio, and seldom watched television. However, she wasn't sure how she would avoid water, or anything that contained water. What made it all worse was the fact that Harry didn't specify how long she would have to stay away from these things.

There was certainly no doubt in Ellie's mind why Harry would send such a cryptic letter. Every single mind in the muggle world was about to be obliviated. What better way to reach every single person in the world than through television, radio and the water supply. And if there was anyone who wouldn't be affected by those things, then they probably weren't even aware of the wizard crisis in the first place.

Ellie folded the letter and placed it in the shoebox with the rest of her magic world souvenirs.

The first day was tough for Ellie. She was very cautious with what she ate and drank. She even turned down a bowl of her mother's delicious homemade chicken noodle soup, which, of course, contained water. What surprised Ellie the most was how fast the memory erasing potions and charms were working. By Saturday, only a small, three-paragraph article about the wizard crisis could be found in the morning paper.

Soon Ellie found herself on a diet of nothing but cereal and milk, since it was the only food she trusted without hesitation. Fruit Loops for breakfast, Corn Pops for lunch, Cheerios for dinner, and if she felt like it, Lucky Charms for dessert. However, the weekend became worse when Ellie realized that the phone lines weren't working, leaving her no way to contact Jo. Even though her parents didn't talk about the events that occurred in the past week, Ellie noticed a definite change in their behavior. They seemed much more relaxed and less paranoid.

Curious on how thorough the magic world was about erasing the past, Ellie tried searching for Thursday morning's newspaper, which had the interview with her mother in it. She knew her mother had put a copy aside for memory sake, but it was nowhere to be found.

By the time Sunday came around there was no mention of wizards in the paper at all.

It was Sunday evening. Ellie had just finished her bowl of Cheerios, and had gone up to her bedroom, when she spotted Hedwig perched on her window ledge. She quickly opened the window and removed the letter from the owl's leg.

_Dear Ellie_

_I'm sorry my last letter was so brief, but I wanted to make sure it would get to you in time. By now, you know that the water, television and radio waves were charmed with memory modifying spells. I'm sure you're wondering exactly what effect these charms have had on everyone. Only memories from the past week have been removed. Your family will still remember your cousin's death, but they have no knowledge of your mother being abducted. Even Hermione's parents don't remember being held captive._

_The real reason I'm writing this letter is to let you know that the memory spells have been removed. I also wanted to make sure that you still remember me._

_Please write back._

_Love Harry_

Ellie glanced up and saw that Hedwig had decided to stick around for a reply this time. She quickly rummaged through her desk drawer, and pulled out a pen and paper.

_Dear Harry_

_Of course, I remember. How could I forget a great kisser like you? In fact, I remember everything very clearly. Just one of the perks of having a photographic memory. Thank you for sending a warning. I would never want to forget you._

_It's strange though, since my mother has no recollection of what happened in the cave, I can almost convince myself that it was all a dream…well, more like a nightmare. I must admit, It's nice to see both of my parents so at ease. I think it's best that they don't remember anything, especially my mother. _

_I hope it's possible for us to continue writing letters to each other. After all, we've been through; it would be a shame if we didn't stay in touch._

_Thank you for letting me keep my memories._

_Love Ellie_

Just as Ellie finished tying the letter to Hedwig's leg, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She quickly opened the window, and watched the snowy owl soar into the night sky.

There was a gentle knock at her door. Ellie quickly shoved Harry's letter into her desk drawer before saying, "come in".

Mrs. Richards poked her head into the room.

"The news just reported that all the schools will be re-opened tomorrow, so I want you in bed early tonight."

"Yes mum." Ellie smiled.

After her mother left, Ellie began to gather her schoolbooks excitedly. Tomorrow she would finally be able to talk to Jo.

Ellie was sitting in her usual seat on the bus, gazing blankly out the window. Her mind was still replaying her visit to Hogwarts and the events in the cave. It was as if she was stuck in the past, and couldn't get out. More importantly, she didn't want to get out.

"Ellie."

Ellie suddenly snapped out of her daze. Jo was standing in the aisle of the bus. It took Ellie a moment to realize that her book-bag was taking up Jo's seat.

"Sorry." Ellie apologized as she promptly moved her bag.

"Are you alright?" Jo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ellie replied with a bit of uncertainty in her voice. "I'm sorry I didn't call you. My phone wasn't working."

"I know. Everyone's phones weren't working." Jo said, as if it was common knowledge.

"Oh." Ellie replied sounding a bit surprised.

"So, what did you do all week?" Jo asked eagerly.

"Not too much really." Ellie answered nonchalantly.

"Well, you've had to have done something. I know the fog put a damper on doing much of anything but –"

"What fog?" Ellie interrupted.

Jo gave her an odd glare.

"You know…the fog!" Jo stressed.

Ellie still looked at her best friend blankly.

"That really thick stuff which prevented us from going to school this past week. The fog that defied all laws of probability and caused chaos in the meteorological society. The thickest and longest lasting fog ever to be recorded in London's history."

"Oh, right…_that_ fog. How could I forget?" Ellie said quickly, trying not to let on that her recollection of the past week was severely different.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jo asked again. "Did something happen?"

Ellie looked Jo directly in the eye. It was at that very moment when she decided that she wouldn't tell Jo about the magic world.

It was obvious that the wizards went through a lot of trouble to make sure that their existence remained a secret. Besides, Jo probably wouldn't believe her anyways.

"I'm sure Jo. Everything is fine."


	33. Parting Ways

A/N: I know many of you have been asking if this is the end of the story. I'm here to answer that no, it's not the end...yet. There will be a total of 36 chapters when this fanfic is over, so thereare still three to go. However, because of the hectic holiday season, I have fallen behind with my writing. This means that I won't be able to post as frequently as I use to. I'm hoping, if everything goes as planned, the last chapter should be posted by the end of January (crosses fingers). In case you're wondering, I do have another fanfic idea sitting in my head (not a sequil), but it may take me a while till I get around to writing it. I'd like to thank all of you for your wonderful comments and support. It has made writing this story that much more fulfilling. Thank you!

Chapter 33: Parting Ways

Over the next few months, Ellie and Harry continued to owl letters to each other. They mostly wrote about school and what lessons they had learned recently. Ellie would give updates on how her family was doing, while Harry would talk about Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindor students. Harry never mentioned anything about Voldemort or the Deatheaters, and Ellie never asked. It was tough on both of them to be so far apart from one another. Ellie wished she could see Harry everyday. However, writing letters twice a week was far better than not having any contact at all.

As the end of the school year approached, and final exams drew closer, the letter writing became increasingly infrequent. Both Ellie and Harry became heavily occupied with homework and final papers. The two letters a week gradually diminished to once a week, then once every two weeks, then once a month. By the time June came around, the letters had stopped all together. The homework load was so heavy; Ellie barely had a chance to even think about Harry.

Once school had ended, and there were no more distractions, Ellie became fully aware of how much she missed Harry. The problem was she didn't know when the Hogwarts school term ended, or when Harry would be coming back to Little Whinging. On July 1st, Ellie was given the perfect opportunity to check.

Her mother had asked her to get a loaf of bread from the corner store, and on the walk back home Ellie decided to stop by the Dursley's house.

She hesitated before ringing the doorbell, worried that Dudley might answer. When she finally got up the courage to ring the bell, she was relieved to see a large man with a moustache standing in the doorway.

"Hello Mr. Dursley. I was wondering if –"

"Aren't you Dennis's little sister?" Mr. Dursley interrupted harshly.

"Yes I am." Ellie replied, taken aback by such rude behaviour.

"Dennis isn't here."

"I'm not here for Dennis."

"Well, Dudley isn't here either." Mr. Dursley said hastily, getting ready to shut the door.

"I'm not here to see Dudley either." Ellie informed him.

"Then why are you here?" Mr. Dursley asked suspiciously.

"I'm here to see Harry." Ellie replied plainly.

Mr. Dursley suddenly became very pale.

"W-what did you say?"

"Your nephew Harry, I'd like to speak with him please."

"Harry isn't here." Mr. Dursley said in a nervous tone.

"Has he returned from Hogwarts yet?"

Mr. Dursley's eyes grew wide, as if Ellie had just uttered a bad word.

"Yes, he has."

"Do you know where he is then?" Ellie's patience was starting to wear thin.

"He mentioned something about not staying here for the summer, so I guess he already left."

Ellie's heart sank. How could Harry leave without saying good-bye?

"Oh" was all that she could think to say.

Mr. Dursley looked pleased with Ellie's disappointment, and slammed the door shut without warning.

Feeling very down hearted, Ellie walked home. She kept her head down and tightly clutched the plastic store bag. Ellie was so distraught, she nearly walked into someone at the corner of Magnolia Crescent and Magnolia Road.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" A voice exclaimed.

Ellie looked up, and was surprised to see Harry.

"Harry! What are you doing here? Your uncle said you had gone away for the summer."

"I am." Harry replied, "But I'm not leaving until tomorrow. Frankly, I'm surprised that my uncle even knew I was going. I had just stopped by your house to see you. You didn't think I was going to leave without saying good bye, did you?"

Ellie threw her arms around Harry.

"But why do you have to leave? I thought the safest place for you to stay was at the Dursley's house?"

"Well, things have changed." Harry said lowly.

"What's changed?" Ellie asked with concern.

"I don't want to talk about it." Harry said shortly. "But I do need to talk to you about something."

"What?"

"Why don't we go sit in the park?" Harry asked casually.

"Alright." Ellie said apprehensively.

Even though Harry was acting perfectly normal, Ellie couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

The park was deserted, except for a small flock of blackbirds that were fighting over an abandoned cracker. Ellie and Harry sat down on the park bench that faced the swing set.

"So, how were your exams?" Harry casually asked.

"Fine…A's as usual. Yours?"

"They were alright." Harry said distractedly.

"Harry, what do you really want to talk about?" Ellie bluntly asked, getting tired of the small talk.

Harry sighed heavily, his eyes fixed on a pebble next to his foot. He opened his mouth to speak, but promptly changed his mind. Whatever news he had to tell, it was eating away at him. Harry opened his mouth again, and Ellie braced for the worse.

"I don't think we should see each other any more." Harry uttered. He was doing his best not to make any eye contact with Ellie.

Ellie's heart dropped. "What?"

"It's for your own good." Harry said mournfully.

"What are you talking about?" Ellie choked. She was having a hard time keeping her tears back.

"Ellie, you know my past. You know what I've been through…and am still going through. Everyone close to me is in danger. You've been in danger once already. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Really? Then why do I feel hurt right now?" Ellie knew that was the wrong thing to say the moment the words came out of her mouth.

She knew it must be difficult for Harry to tell her this, but Ellie couldn't help but feel cheated. She was being robbed of a wonderful relationship, and she wasn't going to give it up that easily.

"So when did you come up with this decision?" Ellie asked in a more gentle tone.

"A few weeks ago, after I talked to Dumbledore." Harry replied lowly.

"This isn't even your idea?!" Ellie said in outrage.

"No…not at first." Harry answered.

Ellie stared at him, wanting a further explanation.

"When he first mentioned that I should stop sending letters to you, for both of our safety, I got upset. I yelled at him to stop controlling my life…except I didn't use those exact words. It took me a few days to realize why he didn't want me to see you anymore." Harry took another deep sigh. "I have lost a lot of people I care about, and seen more deaths than I care to. I don't know what I'd do if you died because of me. I don't want to lose you Ellie, you're too important to me."

Ellie remained silent. She wanted to scream. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, and that she was safe. However, deep down in her heart, Ellie knew that Harry was right, as much as she hated to admit it.

"This isn't going to be permanent." Harry consoled her. "As soon as Voldemort is gone, we can be together again."

"I don't want to lose you either Harry. But I can't sake the feeling that if you leave me now, I'll never see you again." Ellie sobbed.

Harry hugged her tightly.

"I promise I will see you again." Harry whispered in a resolute tone. "I promise!"

Harry and Ellie continued to embrace each other, neither one wanting to let go.

"I should get going." Harry said as they slowly pulled apart.

Ellie just nodded, as she wiped her tear soaked cheeks. Harry gave Ellie a quick kiss before heading towards Magnolia Crescent. Ellie remained sitting on the park bench as she watched Harry disappear around the corner. She sat a while longer, waiting for her puffy eyes to diminish before going home. Her mother would be wondering where her loaf of bread was.


	34. Flight And Fight

Chapter 34: Flight and Fight

Ellie's depression didn't go unnoticed. Everyone who saw the sad expression fixed on her face asked what was wrong, but Ellie never gave an answer. Just as Mr. and Mrs. Richards prepared to send their daughter to see a psychologist, the new school year began, and Ellie finally had something to distract her from the loss of Harry.

It was the night of December 20th; the winter break had just begun. Ellie was home alone. Her parents were attending a Christmas fund raising dinner, and Dennis was out wreaking havoc on the neighbourhood with the rest of his goon friends.

Ellie was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall, pouring over the magical contents of the shoebox she kept hidden under her bed. It had become a new pastime of Ellie's to read through the old letters Harry had sent her months ago. Her heart ached every time she read them, but she had great difficulty ignoring them as well.

Ellie was staring blankly into the box, lost in her memories, when she heard the sound of footsteps walking up the stairs.

"_Odd, I don't remember hearing my parents come home_." Ellie thought to herself.

She quickly stuffed the letters in the box, and slid it under her bed.

Ellie watched the approaching shadow underneath the crack at the base of her door. She had expected a knock, then her mother poking her head in, but instead, nothing happened. The shadow remained perfectly still.

"Something is not right." Ellie whispered to herself.

She stood from her bed to open the door, but before she could even take one step, the bedroom door burst into tiny shards of wood. Ellie quickly shielded her face, but still received a gash across her forehead and scratches on the back of her hands from the airborne slivers. She remained perfectly still, terrified to see what could cause her door to explode like that. Ellie finally lowered her hands and saw a black cloaked figure standing in the doorframe. It was a Deatheater. The Deatheater raised his wand and pointed it directly at Ellie.

"Stupify!" The voice hissed.

Ellie tightly shut her eyes as she braced for impact.

Ellie groaned as she rolled over in her nice warm bed. Her head was throbbing. Why was it throbbing? Ellie cracked open one eye and was startled to see that she wasn't in her bed at all. She wasn't even in her room. Ellie rubbed her head in confusion. That's when she felt the long gash on her forehead. She suddenly bolted upright, remembering the Deatheater who blew apart her bedroom door.

When her panic slightly ebbed, Ellie took a good look at her new surroundings. There was a very musty smell about the room. The only sources of light were a few rays that escaped through the cracks of the boarded windows. A thin layer of dust covered everything. It looked that no body had been in this room for a very long time. Ellie was sitting in the middle of a queen sized four-poster bed, with moth eaten linens. The green velvet bed curtains were tied back. To Ellie's horror, it sounded like a swarm of bees were tangled in the folds.

Ellie cautiously climbed out of the bed, careful to stay as far from the curtains as possible and walked to the door. It was locked, just as Ellie had suspected, but she figured it wouldn't have hurt to try. She stood quietly, straining her ears to make out any sounds from the other side of the door. However, there was nothing but silence. Ellie then made her way to the boarded up windows. She peered through the wood planks, but the windows were so grimy, she couldn't make out any of the surrounding area. The window curtains were also buzzing, just like the bed curtains had. Ellie slowly backed away, and surveyed the rest of the room. Over in the far corner, the walls were covered with deep claw markings, as if some sort of large creature desperately wanted out. Below the scratches lay a pile of hay. Ellie went to take a closer look and discovered that imbedded in the straws were small animal bones and a few grey feathers.

A large dresser with a shattered mirror, a tall wardrobe, and two bedside tables also decorated the room. However, Ellie was very wary of searching any of the cupboards or drawers. If the curtains were swarming with bees, she didn't want to know what could be hiding elsewhere. Ellie carefully returned to the bed, since it was the only place to sit.

Hours passed by and the house remained quite. Who ever captured her didn't even bother to check in or provide any food. After trying very hard to fight back the hunger pangs, Ellie eventually fell asleep. She was suddenly awoken by the sound of the doorknob jostling. Ellie propped herself up on one elbow, as she watched the door swing open.

A figure stood in the doorway, holding in one hand, what looked to be a penknife, but instead of a blade, it was a jagged key shaped attachment. A rolled up bundle of dark red cloth was held in the other arm.

Ellie almost yelped for joy, but quickly thought better of it. She didn't want to draw any unwanted attention.

Harry sat next to Ellie on the bed, and Ellie instantly threw her arms around him.

"I told you we would see each other again." Harry whispered.

"Well, if I'd know this is what you had in mind, I would have suggested something else." Ellie quipped.

Harry didn't reply, but unrolled the cloth, which turned out to be a robe, surrounding a wrapped sandwich and a cloth. He took the cloth and began dabbing Ellie's forehead with it.

"You have some dried blood there." Harry gently spoke.

"I'm fine." Ellie said staring into his green eyes.

Harry and Ellie both suddenly snapped out of their temporary daze.

"Eat this quickly. We don't have much time." He said hastily, handing Ellie the sandwich.

"What is this place?" Ellie asked before taking a bite.

"Number twelve Grimmauld Place." Harry muttered.

Ellie stared at him in disbelief, then swallowed her mouthful of food.

"Your godfather's house? But I thought the Order of the Phoenix was using this place?"

"They were." Harry answered with a bitter tone.

"What do you mean '_were_'?" Ellie asked.

"After Sirius's death, Kreacher became increasingly difficult to control. Believe me, that house-elf can create a lot of trouble when he wants to. Seven months ago, Dumbledore decided it would be best if the Order's base of operations changed location. It's assumed that a few months after that the Deatheaters moved in."

"Why am I here?" Ellie asked lowly.

Harry looked at her with an apologetic expression. "It's my fault." He began. "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hide my feelings for you from Voldemort."

"I thought you were able to keep Voldemort from getting into your mind?"

"Well, lately it's been a tough battle." Harry replied wearily.

"So, I'm here as bait." Ellie said in realization.

Harry nodded.

"Please tell me you weren't dumb enough to come rescue me on your own." Ellie said in sudden alarm.

"We need to hurry. Put this on, it's cold outside." Harry said handing Ellie the cloak, but she didn't take it.

"Harry, are you insane?!" She asked incredulously.

"I had to come. They're going to kill you."

"What?!"

"I got a message that said 'The muggle will die the night of the winter solstice', and that's tonight." Harry said earnestly.

"Harry, it's really nice that you're so worried about my well being, but maybe you should start worrying about your own." Ellie commented.

"Don't worry. I'm ready to face Voldemort." Harry began, but the sound of footsteps from one of the lower floors interrupted him.

"Come on. We have to leave, now." Harry said urgently.

Ellie draped the cloak around her and left the remainder of her sandwich on the bed.

Ellie carefully crept into the hallway, following Harry close behind. Harry stopped at the top of the staircase, and cautiously peered down. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, Harry led Ellie down the steps. The entire house was dusty with cobwebs hanging in every corner. Most of the wallpaper was peeling off the walls. Some of the pictures were so filthy Ellie couldn't even make out what they were.

"Just one more flight of stairs left." Harry whispered to Ellie after they had successfully climbed down the third staircase.

Ellie was slightly distracted by the row of shrivelled heads mounted on plaques that lined the wall of this last flight of stairs. These large eared creatures seemed to share some similar features to Dobby the house-elf Ellie had met back at Hogwarts.

"_Why would anyone hang the heads of house-elves on plaques?_" Ellie thought to herself.

She was so preoccupied with this question, that she didn't notice Harry stop at the bottom of the staircase. Ellie bumped right into Harry, who would have fallen flat on his face if Ellie hadn't caught the back of his shirt.

"Sorry." She apologized, but Harry didn't even bother to look at her.

His eyes were fixed on a spot further down the hall. Ellie followed his gaze and saw an old wrinkly house-elf with large grey bloodshot eyes, and a stout nose identical to the ones on the heads mounted on the plaques. The house-elf was standing next to a moth-eaten curtain. Ellie was curious to what could be concealed behind such a curtain.

"Kreacher was hoping Harry Potter would come for the disgusting muggle." The house-elf mumbled. "My mistress would be very proud of Kreacher…very proud indeed."

"Ellie, run for the door." Harry whispered.

"But –"

"Just do it!" Harry insisted.

Before Ellie could even take a step forward, Kreacher took hold of the curtain next to him and threw it open. Behind the dingy curtain hung a life-size portrait of an old woman wearing a black cap. At first, Ellie wasn't sure what the fuss was about, until the woman let out an ear-shattering scream that was loud enough to wake the dead. Soon other portraits along the wall began screaming as well. Harry grabbed Ellie's arm, and they ran down the hall towards the front door.

Once outside, the crisp night winter air caught Ellie off guard. It was a drastic contrast from the old mouldy air in Grimmauld Place. Ellie continued to run, although she had no idea where she was going. Harry was still holding tightly to her arm. They passed several streets lined with houses, and eventually came across a large park area.

"Just a bit further." Harry shouted, pointing to a thicket of trees ahead.

When they were in deep enough, Harry and Ellie stopped to catch their breaths.

"Exactly…where are…we going?" Ellie panted.

But, before Harry could give an answer, several black cloaked figures apparated, surrounding them both. Harry drew out his wand and started throwing curses at the Deatheaters. To Ellie's surprise, the Deatheaters didn't return fire; they only blocked the spells. It was as if they were biding their time, waiting for something…or someone.

"Predictable as always Potter." Voldemort hissed as he entered the edge of the circle of Deatheaters. "You make it so easy. It really takes out all the fun in planning a trap for you."

"Ellie, run." Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Where? We're surrounded." Ellie replied

"I'll keep them distracted. Just trust me."

Ellie hesitated. "I don't want to leave you."

"RUN!" Harry yelled.

Ellie didn't know what came over her, but she started running, against all better judgement. She ploughed into two unprepared Deatheaters, knocking them to the ground.

"Get her!" A voice shouted from behind.

Ellie ran faster. She could hear the grumbling voices becoming more distant. Just as Ellie started to believe that she was actually going to get away, she felt something hard hit the back of her head. Everything went dark.


	35. A Role Revealed

Chapter 35: A Role Revealed

A soft gorgeous melody floated delicately through the air. It was the most wondrous thing that had ever passed through Ellie's ears.

"_I must be in heaven_" was the first though that came to her mind.

The inside of her eyelids were glowing a warm orange colour. The melody continued. It was so peaceful and elegant, nothing like Ellie had ever heard before. Finally, she decided to leave her peaceful state and investigate what the origin of the sound was.

Ellie carefully cracked open her eyes and saw a large deep gold dome standing twenty feet away from where she was laying. Each thread that the dome was composed of was vibrating with the sound of the unearthly music.

Ellie gapped at the sight, but was even more surprised when she saw that Harry and Voldemort were standing in the center of the golden mesh-like dome. The tips of their wands were connected by a narrow stream of light.

"It's good to see you're awake." A voice spoke from behind.

Ellie glanced back and saw Albus Dumbledore staring down at her. He extended his hand to help her to her feet.

"What is that sound?" Ellie asked as she brushed the cold dirt from the red cloak she was wearing.

"It is the phoenix's song. It's created by the Priori Incantatem." Dumbledore replied heavily.

Ellie looked at him quizzically.

"It's the reveres spell effect that occurs when two brother wands are forced into battle against each other."

"Brother wands?" Ellie asked for clarification.

"Yes." Dumbledore continued. "Harry and Voldemort's wands each contain a phoenix feather from the same phoenix." He paused. "Right now Harry's wand is forcing Voldemort's to regurgitate every spell it has ever performed in reverse order."

"Oh" was all that Ellie could think to say.

She stared at Dumbledore, noticing that he looked different in some way. After a moment longer, Ellie finally realized what the difference was. The usual twinkle that always appeared in Dumbledore's eye was not there.

Other wizards and witches were also gazing at the Priori Incantatem. Ellie noticed Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley and Mr. Weasley standing off to the side. All of them had tragic expressions fixed on their faces.

"What's really going on?" Ellie asked Dumbledore suspiciously.

She had the feeling she hadn't been told the entire truth yet.

Dumbledore looked at her with a grim look in his eye. But before he could give a reply, the dome surrounding Harry and Voldemort released two rapid flashes of bright gold light.

"It's the beginning of the end." Dumbledore said wearily.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Ellie stammered in shock.

"When the very last spell is extracted from a wand during the Priori Incantatem it creates a chain reaction that reverses every thing that is magic…including every witch, wizard and creature."

"Reverse? What do you mean _reverse_?" Ellie asked in alarm.

"It means that we will no longer exist. The entire magic world will be gone." Dumbledore answered, glancing back at the Priori Incantatem.

"Does Harry know this?" Ellie asked in a sudden panic.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, he doesn't. He only knows that if he maintains the Priori Incantatem until the very end, he will be able to vanquish Voldemort. I never told him that the entire magic world would be destroyed too." He said, not bothering to look at Ellie.

Ellie was speechless with outrage.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL HIM SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS THAT?!" She finally erupted.

"Because he wouldn't have gone through with it if he knew." Dumbledore replied calmly.

"Don't you think that avoiding something like no longer existing would be more important?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"You must understand Miss. Richards, this is the only way to rid the world, both magic and muggle, from Voldemort for once and for all."

"I don't believe that! There has to be another way!" Ellie shouted.

"If there were another way, don't you think I would have stopped this before it even started?"

Ellie stared at the old wizard. Her head was beginning to reel with devastation. She felt helpless, angry and desperate; desperate for it to all stop.

"MAKE IT STOP!" Ellie demanded.

"I can't. Only Harry can stop it, and he can't hear us from within the dome." Dumbledore said lowly.

Ellie stared at Harry through the criss-crosses of the golden strands of light. She wasn't ready to give up yet.

"What about the muggles who do know about the magic world? Don't you think they'll notice if it's vanished? Won't Mr. and Mrs. Granger be upset when they learn that their daughter is gone?" Ellie asked in a furry, the tears just starting to trickle down her cheeks.

"No, they won't." Dumbledore simply replied.

"What do you mean they _won't_?!" Ellie yelled more confused than ever.

"There won't be anything left for them to remember. We're not just simply going to disappear. The entire history of the world will be altered so that magic never existed at all."

"SO I'M JUST GOING TO FORGET EVERYTHING?!" Ellie had never felt so furious in her life.

"No…_you_ won't."

Ellie stared blankly at Dumbledore.

"But you just said –"

"I know what I just said Miss. Richards." Dumbledore said solemnly.

Ellie could feel her anger starting to subside, and her curiosity take control.

"Why will I remember?" She asked in a much calmer voice.

"Because it is your role." Dumbledore gave a slight grin.

For the first time that night, Ellie caught sight of the twinkle in Dumbledore's eye, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"My what?"

"Your role Miss. Richards. Everybody has a certain role to fulfill in life. Some of us are destined to be the hero, while others play the villain, and some even play the wise advisor. Each role is important to the entire story, no matter how big or small. In this story, your role is the most vital."

"What is my role?" Ellie asked humbly.

"Your role is to ensure that the magic world never dies."

"How?"

"That is for you to discover on your own. But know this; as long as you remember everyone and everything you've seen in the magic world, we will never truly be gone. You don't think you were blessed with a photographic memory for nothing, do you?" Dumbledore winked.

Ellie stared at him in complete shock.

"You knew this the entire time. That's why you let me stay at Hogwarts. That's why you wouldn't allow my memory to be obliviated. You wanted me to learn as much as possible about the magic world, and remember it all." Ellie said in realization.

Dumbledore nodded.

Ellie stood quietly, watching the Priori Incantatem, as the full weight of her role fell upon her.

Without warning, the gold dome emitted four short bursts of light, and the phoenix song grew louder.

"It's almost over."

Ellie just barely made out Dumbledore's voice over the beautiful sound.

Suddenly, her panic returned in full force.

"Wait! I'm not ready for this!" Ellie screamed. "I don't want this role! I'd rather have Harry! You have to make it stop. Please!"

Dumbledore gave no response to Ellie's pleads, nor did he bother to look at her.

Before Ellie could start shouting again, a white blinding light, lasting several seconds, came from the golden dome. The light was so strong that Ellie could still see it through her tightly covered eyelids.

The phoenix song abruptly stopped, and the light disappeared.

Ellie slowly removed her hands from her face. A thick greyish fog met her eyes. It was so thick that she couldn't see her hand three inches in front of her face.

"Hello?" Ellie's voice sounded hollow against the dead silence.

Her eyes darted around, searching for any outline or shadow.

"Is anyone there?" Ellie said, a bit louder than before.

Gradually, the fog dispersed, slowly revealing shadows of her surroundings. But it wasn't the outline of trees or wizards that came to focus. Ellie's knees gave out when she saw the sight before her. She was no longer amongst a thicket of trees in a park. She was in her very own bedroom, dressed in her pyjamas. Luckily, her bed was behind her to catch her fall.

Ellie stared stunned at her bedroom door, which showed no signs of ever being blown apart into tiny pieces. She even felt her forehead for the deep gash, but there was nothing but smooth skin. Suddenly, Ellie dove to the floor, and began feeling for the shoebox of letters and magic souvenirs she kept hidden beneath her bed, but it wasn't there. Gone…everything was gone.

Ellie sat back on her bed, not knowing what to think.

"_Was it all a dream?_" The voice in her head asked.

Her heart told her, "_No it wasn't a dream. It was all real._"

Ellie's grief hit her all at once. She buried her head in her pillow, and cried harder than she had ever cried before.

One of the last memories that passed through her mind before she drifted to sleep was Dumbledore's voice saying, "_Because it's your role_".

A/N: I apologize for taking so long to write this chapter. Just one more left to go!


	36. Ten Years Later: A Role Fulfilled

Ten Years Later: A Role Fulfilled

The English countryside swiftly flew by. The train had been delayed by four hours and was now trying to make up time. Suddenly the surroundings went black. Two hollow eyes stared out from the darkness. The eyes belonged to a very pale and sickly thin girl. Her light brown hair had finally grown past her ears. The tunnel came to an end, and Ellie resumed watching the panoramic scenery pass by.

Ten years ago, Ellie woke up with dried tears crusted on her cheeks. Ten years ago, Ellie spent an entire month asking Dudley if he ever had a cousin named Harry, and every time the answer was no. For the past ten Christmases, Ellie has sat across from her cousin Nicole at the dinner table. Her uncle Simon was no longer treated as an outcast, but as far as her family was concerned, he never was one. And for the past ten years, not one day had gone by when Ellie didn't think of the magic world and the role she was given.

Ellie never told a soul about the magic world, in fear that she would be laughed at or locked up. After all, it is plain impossible to prove a magical society existed when you don't have a shred of proof except for your memories. It was the role Ellie had to fulfill that baffled her the most. How does one go about bringing a magic world back to life?

Ellie spent years trying to find the answer to that very question. Unfortunately, life had gotten in the way.

After high school, Ellie went to Manchester University. It was the perfect distance away from home. Far enough to be independent, and close enough to still go home once in a while. Ellie enrolled in the Earth Sciences program, which was an odd choice according to her friends and family. Of course they didn't understand. After witnessing one world vanish, Ellie thought it best if she learned how to prevent her world from a similar fate.

However, in her fourth and final year at university, Ellie became tremendously ill. The numerous tests and doctors appointments severely interfered with her class schedule, leaving her no choice but to drop out of the masters program. Ellie didn't know what was worse; not graduating, or being diagnosed with cancer.

Over the past four and a half years, Ellie had gone through two operations and one round of chemotherapy, but none of them did any good.

Now, on a train ride back from Manchester, Ellie was facing her greatest fear; the magic world dying with her.

"Ellie, are you alright?" A voice from the seat across from her asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ellie replied, snapping out of her daze.

Jo gave her an unconvinced glare before returning to her book.

Ellie had long become immune to Jo's many glares. Jo was always asking Ellie if she was alright, and Ellie would always answer that she was fine, whether it was true or not. Jo always had her way of knowing if Ellie was lying, and at the moment she was definitely lying.

Ellie was scheduled to start another chemotherapy treatment next month, but she was having great doubts if she would even live to see that day. Although the doctors had great confidence that she had several months left in her, Ellie could feel deep down inside that her time was coming to an end.

Actually, this was the very reason why Ellie accompanied Jo to Manchester. Ellie went to visit her school friends for what she figured to be her last time, while Jo went to search for an apartment with her boyfriend.

Ellie had had a great time in Manchester, but all her friends told her the same thing; "don't worry, you'll pull through".

Ellie resumed staring forlornly out the window. Her mind was set on the same thought that had plagued her for ten years; _how do I fulfill my role?_

She had such little time left and still no idea on where to begin. Suddenly Ellie was stricken with the devastating realization that she had failed.

"What did you say?" Jo asked out of the blue.

"I didn't say anything." Ellie replied, taken off guard.

"I thought I just heard you say that you failed."

"Oh." Ellie said quietly.

"What did you fail at?" Jo asked firmly.

Ellie really didn't want to answer the question, but judging by the expression on Jo's face, there was no way for her to get out of it. She let out a deep sigh before speaking.

"I've failed at my purpose in life."

"What are you talking about?" Jo asked in bafflement.

"Everyone has a role to play…a destiny to fulfill. I don't have enough time to fulfill my role." Ellie said meekly.

"Ellie, you have plenty of time." Jo said in a dismissive tone.

"No, I don't!"

"Ellie –"

"You're not listening. Nobody ever listens. I'm not well, and I'm not getting better. No amounts of chemotherapy or operations are going to help. I'm just tired of fighting a losing battle, and everyone is just going to have to get use to it."

Jo said nothing in return and resentfully returned to her book. Ellie was done with the topic of conversation and sat bitterly in her seat. She assumed that after four and a half years everyone would have grown accustomed to her cancer, but it wasn't so.

What she really needed was to figure out a way to bring the magic world back to life, and now. Her mind began to race, but just as in the past ten years, Ellie couldn't come up with any solutions.

Random flashes of memories from the magic world appeared before her. Bumping in to Mrs. Weasley in Diagon Alley; meeting Harry in the Three Broomsticks; getting stuck in the tricky step; seeing a real unicorn; Hermione's chipper alarm clock. Over all the memories Ellie could hear Dumbledore's voice saying "...ensure that the magic world never dies" repeated over and over.

Ellie emerged out of her trance, realizing that the entire time she had been staring at Jo's book without really looking at it. Ellie continued to gaze at the book when she was hit by the most incredible revelation. She didn't have to create a new magic world; she just had to make sure that the old one didn't die. It was so obvious. Why didn't she see it before?

She now knew what her role was. Ellie took a moment to watch Jo peacefully read her book.

"_Everybody has a certain role to fulfill…each role is important, no matter how big or small…"_ The memory replayed Dumbledore's words.

"I'm just the messenger." Ellie thought to herself. "I know what I have to do!"

Ellie felt the butterflies in her stomach awaken, and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"What is with you?" Jo blurted out.

"What?" Ellie asked in confusion.

"One moment you're having one of your 'I'm at death's door' tantrums, and now you're smiling…which is something you haven't done in four and a half years." Jo said incredulously.

"I know what I have to do now." Ellie said, her smile growing bigger.

"That's good." Jo said not sure if it was the right response.

It dawned on Ellie that this was the perfect moment; it had to happen now.

"Jo, I need to tell you something." Ellie said in a very serious tone.

"What is it?" Jo asked with concern.

Ellie suddenly realized what she was about to say, and why she hadn't told anyone before.

"Everything that I'm about to tell you is true. Promise me that you'll believe every word I say. Swear it!"

Jo placed her right hand over her heart and raised her left hand, palm forward.

"I, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, solemnly swear that I will believe every word that comes out of your mouth."

Ellie couldn't help but chuckle at her best friend's over dramatics.

"Alright, I'll tell you." Ellie began, gaining her composure. "It all started the day I met Harry Potter…"

_**The End**_

****

A/N: I just wanted to thank you all for your wonderful comments and support. If I ever start another fanfic, or anyother story for that matter, I'll let you know. Until next time... ;)


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